Miami fans shouldn't fall for the Jeremiah Smith $10 million transfer claims

Jeremiah Smith will forever be linked to the Miami Hurricanes despite never playing a snap in Coral Gables.

Smith, who played down the road from Miami at Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Florida, was the top offensive recruit in the nation for the 2024 class and a prospect that everyone wanted to sign. As we know, Smith eventually chose Ohio State over Miami and a few other top programs.

He has had a successful run with the Buckeyes that included a CFP title in 2024 and All-American honors in consecutive years. Smith will likely declare after this season and be a top-10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

But Smith will always be somewhat linked to the Hurricanes. Whether it's superfans that wish he played for 'The U', friendships with former players or the alleged NIL offers that have come from the program. For his part, Smith continued to keep this story in the news cycle and that didn't change at Big Ten Media Days, where the All-American wide receiver claims he had up to $10 million offered to transfer.

READ MORE: Jeremiah Smith's 'revenge' comments prove that Miami loss still lives in his head

"I never really thought about leaving Ohio State," Smith said. "Always wanted to be at Ohio State, and it would have been dumb for me to leave Ohio State to go to another team when I have one of the best offensive lines in the country, best quarterback in the country, best coaches in the country, so that would have been a stupid move for me."

Miami making Jeremiah Smith a big offer to transfer goes against the process

This wouldn't be the first time that Miami has been accused of making Smith a huge offer to transfer and Smith has insinuated that himself. Last year, it was reported that the Hurricanes offered him around $4.5 million. With that number having been floated in January 2025, it's a little silly to think the Hurricanes would come back and offer over twice as much, right?

READ MORE: Jeremiah Smith reportedly has massive offer from unknown school to leave Ohio State

I get inflation, but it seems a little farfetched that Miami would sweeten an original offer to 120%. Especially when they were in the market for a top-end quarterback and eventually had to give a lot of money to convince Darian Mensah to leave Duke. 

Say the Hurricanes decided to acquire Mensah, Smith and Damon Wilson II from the portal for the reported numbers. That's about $20 million for three players! Even if the program had a bottomless pit of funds, that sort of spending would not be tolerated. 

Most importantly, it goes against the process that Mario Cristobal and GM Dennis Smith operate. They understand the importance of the portal, especially to fill major holes, but high school recruiting and player retention are most important. If a $10 million wide receiver jumps on the roster, what's to stop Malachi Toney from asking for the same amount (or more) next season?

Nothing can be completely discounted in today's college football, and I'm not saying Smith is lying about a $10 million offer. As a matter of fact, I have an idea of the school that may have offered him that kind of financial package (let's just say it rhymes with TEXAS), but Smith and Cristobal's execution in adding a top QB and top pass rusher in the portal while adding solid receiving talent to support Toney seems more like the original plan playing itself out.

We can always wonder what life would be if Smith were a Hurricane. Would he and Toney have been a dynamic duo or maybe Smith's presence would've robbed Toney of his amazing freshman season or kept him from reclassifying? However, Miami fans should be happy with the way things have played out, especially when the Hurricanes won the Cotton Bowl to send Smith and Buckeyes back to Columbus. 

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