Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith stated at Big Ten Media Days that the University of Alabama did not recruit him during his high school career. However, information indicates that Alabama extended an offer to the five-star prospect in February 2022, following an unofficial visit to Tuscaloosa.
Smith, the number one player in the 2024 recruiting class, began receiving offers from Power 4 schools in February 2021, entering his freshman year of high school. Alabama's offer came less than a month after he visited the campus.
Speculation that the coaching staff may have disengaged from recruiting due to Nick Saban's potential departure after the 2023 season does not align with Alabama's 2024 recruiting class, which ranked second nationally. The Crimson Tide also secured two four-star prospects from Florida in that cycle, indicating they did not abandon recruiting in Smith's home state.
Some suggest Smith might be intentionally provoking Alabama fans or not fully disclosing the circumstances. While Alabama and Nick Saban likely did recruit Smith, the intensity of that recruitment may not have met Smith's expectations compared to other programs. Elite five-star recruitment often involves significant efforts from coaching staffs to persuade players to commit.
It is possible that Alabama, having already secured a five-star wide receiver in Ryan Williams for the 2024 class, was not as aggressive in pursuing a second top-tier wideout as other schools. This approach, however, has not been definitively confirmed as Saban's strategy.
Ultimately, Alabama likely did pursue Jeremiah Smith, as did many other major college football programs. The discrepancy appears to lie in the level of recruitment effort that met Smith's personal criteria, highlighting the subjective nature of recruiting decisions influenced by highly-touted high school athletes.