**“QB CROSSROADS IN COLUMBUS: Greg McElroy Sounds Alarm as Ryan Day’s Quarterback Call Could Make or Break Ohio State’s 2025 Title Hopes with 5-Star Star Jeremiah Smith Ready to Explode”*

Tension in Columbus is mounting, and it’s not just because of another high-stakes football season looming on the horizon. The Buckeyes are used to pressure—expectations have always hovered over the Horseshoe like a stormcloud ready to burst. But this year, the spotlight is especially blinding. That spotlight isn’t just aimed at head coach Ryan Day, but squarely fixed on the most high-stakes decision he may ever face as Ohio State’s head coach: choosing his starting quarterback for the 2025 season. And the implications are seismic—not just for the Buckeyes’ shot at a national title, but for the generational talent standing ready to transform the college football landscape, five-star phenom Jeremiah Smith.

After finishing the 2024 campaign with an 11-2 record, Ohio State was once again left out of the College Football Playoff. For a program of its stature, with its legacy and resources, that’s not just a letdown—it’s failure. That failure wasn’t due to a lack of talent. The Buckeyes have consistently fielded one of the most complete rosters in the country, littered with NFL-bound stars on both sides of the ball. But the offense lacked rhythm and explosiveness at the quarterback position, and for a second consecutive year, Ohio State fans watched bitter rival Michigan march into the CFP while they were left pondering what went wrong. The answer is starting to feel uncomfortably obvious.

Enter Jeremiah Smith, a once-in-a-decade wide receiver who chose Columbus over suitors like Alabama, Georgia, and Miami. At 6’3″, 215 pounds with blazing speed, elite footwork, and freakish catch radius, Smith is a matchup nightmare—a prospect that scouts say combines the polish of Marvin Harrison Jr. with the raw explosiveness of Julio Jones. The hype is more than justified. Coaches, analysts, and even defenders have already acknowledged that Smith doesn’t just have All-American potential—he has the makings of a future top-three NFL Draft pick. And he’s ready to contribute now. But that only amplifies the pressure on Ryan Day, who must ensure Smith’s talent doesn’t go to waste because of instability at the quarterback position.

Greg McElroy, former Alabama quarterback and current ESPN analyst, didn’t hold back when addressing the situation on a recent broadcast. “You’ve got to get this decision right,” McElroy said. “You have a player in Jeremiah Smith who can dominate from Day 1. But if you pair him with the wrong quarterback—if you make the wrong call—that’s how you waste a generational talent. That’s how you get left out of the Playoff again. Ryan Day doesn’t have the luxury of a learning curve this year.”

It’s a stinging but sobering assessment. And it’s one Buckeye Nation has been whispering louder and louder. For all of Day’s strengths as a recruiter, offensive mind, and program CEO, his recent handling of the quarterback room has come under increased scrutiny. After C.J. Stroud, a Heisman finalist and now star for the Houston Texans, left for the NFL, Ohio State has cycled through quarterbacks without finding another difference-maker. The 2024 season was marked by inconsistency, misfires in big moments, and an offense that never found its groove against elite competition.

Now, the 2025 season opens with a quarterback battle featuring Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, and true freshman Julian Sayin, who transferred in from Alabama. Each has upside. Brown is the veteran, familiar with the system and respected in the locker room. Kienholz showed flashes of brilliance in limited action, suggesting playmaking ability when the pocket breaks down. Sayin, a five-star recruit in his own right, is perhaps the most naturally gifted of the three, with a smooth release and high football IQ. But none of them has seized the job. And none is a guaranteed solution.

That ambiguity is exactly what has fans and analysts nervous. Because uncertainty at quarterback doesn’t just impact the win-loss column—it affects how effectively Ohio State can deploy Jeremiah Smith. An elite receiver can only do so much if the ball isn’t getting to him in stride, if the offensive rhythm breaks down, or if play-calling becomes overly conservative out of fear of turnovers. And in a year where Michigan may take a step back, USC is entering the Big Ten gauntlet, and the path to the CFP is theoretically more open, Ohio State must capitalize. There is no room for error.

What’s particularly unsettling is that the situation feels eerily familiar. In past years, the Buckeyes have had elite weapons on offense—Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr.—but the offensive engine always needed a capable pilot. This year, with TreVeyon Henderson back in the backfield and Emeka Egbuka returning for what could be a monster senior season, the offensive supporting cast is championship-ready. The offensive line, while breaking in some new faces, has the depth and athleticism to hold up against Big Ten defenses. But again, the fulcrum is the quarterback.

Ryan Day has been candid, if a bit guarded, about the competition. He’s said he’s in no rush to name a starter and will let the battle play out through fall camp. That might be the right approach from a leadership standpoint, but it also runs the risk of continuing uncertainty into the early weeks of the season—weeks that could determine whether Ohio State enters Big Ten play undefeated or already on the outside looking in. It’s also worth noting that the Buckeyes open the season with a neutral-site clash against Texas A\&M—hardly a tune-up game to break in a green quarterback.

And then there’s the recruiting angle. Jeremiah Smith, like many top-tier recruits, didn’t come to Columbus to wait for greatness to develop. He came to shine. He came to dominate. If Ohio State fails to showcase his talents—whether through misfired passes, erratic play-calling, or lack of rapport—it won’t just hurt the Buckeyes on the scoreboard. It could send a message to future elite recruits that Columbus isn’t the sure-fire launching pad it once was under Day’s earlier years.

That might sound alarmist, but in today’s college football landscape—where NIL money, the transfer portal, and national visibility matter more than ever—perception is power. And Ryan Day, despite his 56-8 record as a head coach, is beginning to feel the weight of those perceptions. Fair or not, the narrative is shifting. McElroy isn’t the only national voice raising concerns. Others have questioned whether Day, once hailed as the quarterback whisperer, has lost his touch. And if he gets it wrong again in 2025, the backlash won’t just come from media—it’ll come from inside the program, from former players, boosters, and maybe even recruits themselves.

The solution isn’t easy. Day must strike the right balance between experience, upside, and system fit. He must trust his instincts while being open to risk. And most importantly, he must make a decision quickly enough to allow the offense to gel before it’s tested on the national stage. In Jeremiah Smith, he has a weapon most coaches can only dream of—a player capable of altering the outcome of games on his own. But that weapon is only as effective as the person tasked with pulling the trigger.

That’s the uncomfortable truth Ryan Day must face. Quarterback decisions have always carried pressure, but in this case, the stakes are even higher. Smith’s rise to stardom isn’t a matter of if—it’s when. The only question is whether Ohio State will be the program that benefits from it fully or fumbles it with indecision and mismanagement.

As fall camp begins and reports leak from inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Buckeye Nation waits with bated breath. Every throw, every rep, every scrimmage snap will be analyzed. Fans, boosters, alumni, and analysts alike will demand clarity. And for once, that pressure may be justified. Because unlike in previous years, there is no C.J. Stroud or Justin Fields ready to emerge effortlessly. There is only potential—and with potential comes peril.

Greg McElroy’s warning wasn’t hyperbole. It was a siren. And Ryan Day would be wise to heed it. If he gets the quarterback decision right, 2025 could be the year the Buckeyes reassert their dominance in the Big Ten and make a return to the College Football Playoff. If he gets it wrong, he may not get another shot at redemption. And more tragically for Buckeye fans, the college football world may watch as one of the most gifted wide receivers in recent memory is reduced to flashes and “what ifs” instead of Heismans and highlight reels.

So the question lingers in the humid Columbus air: Will Ryan Day make the right call under center? And if he does, will it be soon enough to unleash the full force of Jeremiah Smith upon a college football world unprepared for his greatness? Only time—and the courage to make the bold choice—will tell.