WR Devin Smith a 2nd-round NFL Draft pick – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 1, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Devin Smith, the talented wide receiver who scored 30 receiving touchdowns and averaged over 20 yards per catch for his career, was chosen in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft this evening by the New York Jets. He was the fifth pick of the second round and the 37th overall selection.
Smith is the first Buckeye chosen in this year’s draft and extends Ohio State’s run of having a player selected in the NFL Draft to 17 consecutive years.
Smith played in 54 games over his Ohio State career and started 30 times. He caught 121 passes for 2,503 for a 20.7 yards-per-catch average with 30 touchdowns. He ranks 11th at Ohio State in receptions, fifth in receiving yards and second – to Cris Carter’s 34 – in touchdown receptions.
Smith led the nation as a senior by averaging a school-record 28.2 yards per catch with 33 receptions for 931 yards. He caught 12 touchdown passes – fourth-most for a single season at Ohio State – including a Big Ten-record tying three touchdown receptions in the Big Ten championship game vs. Wisconsin and a 41-yard scoring reception in the third quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. No. 1 Alabama that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good.
Smith has two ridiculously interesting stats to his credit: he averaged 37.9 yards per touchdown reception – a figure that includes a school-record 90-yard reception from Kenny Guiton vs. Cal in 2013 and features seven scores of 50-or-more yards – and, in the 22 games in which he caught a touchdown pass, the Buckeyes were 22-0.
Smith, who never missed a game as a Buckeye, competed for Ohio State’s track and field team for three springs. He was a sprinter on relays and finished as high as second at the Big Ten championships in the high jump with a leap of 7-0.25 inches in 2013 for one of the Top 5 jumps – outdoors – in Ohio State history.
A state long jump champion at Massillon Washington High School, Smith had 110 career receptions for 2,119 yards and 24 touchdowns as a prepster. He is from Massillon, Ohio.
