Tuesdays with Gorney: Jeremiah Smith is special, leads WR watch

After attending multiple elite camps and tournaments so far this offseason and seeing many of the top receivers in the 2024 class, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has some thoughts and he shares many of them in this week’s Tuesdays with Gorney.

MORE GORNEY: Where will the top 10 uncommitted QBs land? | RBs | WRs | TEs | OL

*****

TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer portal player ranking | Transfer portal team ranking | Transfer Tracker | Message board | Team ranking FAQs

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

*****

I’ve written that Smith could be the best No. 1 wide receiver in any recruiting class since Julio Jones, and I stand by it after seeing him again at the OT7 Phoenix recently. When the Ohio State commit wants to dominate, there is no one in the 2024 class who can stop him.

Last recruiting cycle, Smith played on the same South Florida Express team as five-stars Brandon Inniss and Carnell Tate, and an argument could have been made that Smith was the most special receiver among that group. He didn’t dominate as much as Tate and Inniss, but with his size, gazelle-like stride and playmaking ability it was clear that Smith is going to be special.

There was a debate until the end whether Inniss, Tate or USC signee Zachariah Branch was the best receiver in the 2023 class. It’s going to be nearly impossible to move Smith off the No. 1 receiver line because he has all the tools to be incredibly good.

As for his recruitment, the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna standout remains locked in with the Buckeyes. If five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola commits to Georgia, though, it could get really interesting because the Bulldogs have been the team most aggressively trying to flip Smith.

RELATED: Smith lays out offseason plans

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OHIO STATE FANS AT DOTTINGTHEEYES.COM

Coleman is currently ranked as a high three-star receiver. That is about to significantly change during the next round of rankings.

The Phenix City (Ala.) Central standout was one of the best players at OT7 Phoenix. He has elite size, athleticism, length and playmaking ability. While many receivers will get big bumps in the next round of rankings as everything shakes out it could be Coleman going up the most.

It’s not beyond consideration that he’s a top five or 10 receiver in this class, so starting him out as a high three-star was definitely way too conservative and he will be making his way up the ranks in a hurry.

Last season, Coleman finished with 31 receptions for 542 yards and six touchdowns, which are not earth-shattering numbers, but don’t forget he was playing second fiddle to four-star Michigan signee Karmello English, who commanded the ball much more.

With Florida State, LSU, Auburn and others battling for Coleman, he could emerge as one of the top overall receivers in the entire class.

Trader is ranked as a five-star receiver - and he’s fantastic at that position - but numerous people around his recruitment think he could even be a more special defensive back. That might be an argument without a right or wrong answer, but at OT7 Phoenix he definitely showed out at defensive back and looked like a natural there.

Not to say he wasn’t at receiver, either.

The Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna standout had a strong junior season on offense and that’s tough when you’re a teammate of Jeremiah Smith, who is going to command the football and gets open so often. Trader has great hands and is a natural pass catcher.

On defense, he plays with aggressiveness, rips the ball out and the adage that your best athletes should play on defense would definitely apply to him as well. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Adoree’ Jackson are two elite receivers who ended up on defense in the NFL. I wonder if the same will prove true with Trader over time.

RELATED: Recruiting update with Trader

Through numerous analysts at events, through highlight tapes, through seeing a bunch of top guys over the last few months, there are going to be a bunch of players who move up, down and all-around in the next round of recruiting rankings at the receiver position:

Some names to watch: Bryant Wesco, Dae’Vonn Hall, Caleb Odom, LaWayne McCoy, Nitareon Tuggle, Gatlin Bair, Kwazi Gilmer, Xavier Jordan and Kyan Berry-Johnson.

Bair, a four-star receiver from Burley, Idaho, is currently ranked No. 61 at the position but he just beat five-star Nyckoles Harbor in a 100-meter race in Texas, and one reason why Harbor ended up with that lofty ranking was because of his track speed.

So there will be a lengthy debate about where Bair should be ranked - and how much he should move up - after a phenomenal track season and a big-time junior year in which he had 73 catches for 1,073 yards and 18 touchdowns.