The 2024 season is winding down, and the ‘best freshman’ wideout crown is up for grabs. Jeremiah Smith vs. Ryan Williams: This is where it all comes to a head. Both of the standout athletes have stunned the nation. They are not only on the trend for their boundless talent but also for what they set their sights on and lived up to as a freshman. Both seem to have their future written in the NFL and are widely projected as an early pick. But the one thing that made the most talk in the CFB is their close stat and the quintessential question that comes with it: who is the best of the best?

The Ohio State Buckeyes were starting this season with a top-tier expectation from their key receiver. But coming to a trail, heading to a quarterback, Ryan Day and his team left overwhelmed with Smith’s output. Smith has caught 63 passes for 1,037 yards and 12 touchdowns and helped his team hand a humbling playoff loss to the Volts. He still has a huge game against Oregon to add to his stacks and make a strong case for the ‘best wide receiver’ debate.

But even if he doesn’t, the CFBChuck host has some serious arguments in his favor to highlight right now, irrespective of OSU’s bowl fate. Drawing a parallel comparison to Alabama’s Ryan Williams, he closed out a back-and-forth. The stat showcased the Buckeyes’ sensation, leading the chart in yards, total TD, catch percentage, and some other parameters.

Williams forged 905 yards while Smith mounted for 11,00 yards. Smith put together 15 YD, whereas his opponent’s competitor ended up with 10. In a couple of categories, including the average depth of target, Williams retains his upper hand, though. ‘‘Ryan Williams is fantastic, I believe he will be a first-round draft pick in two years, but Jeremiah Smith will be a first-round draft pick today,” he kept it straight and simple.

Williams, however, earned his strife with the Bama and has all the traits that it takes to be a leading wide receiver of his rank. The kid decided to forgo his senior year in high school to join the forces with the Tide and made an immediate splash.

Even though Alabama wrapped up their battle for the season, Ryan Williams’ eye-soothing 75-yard touchdown against the Bulldogs at Bryant Denny Stadium remains imprinted in the collective Alabama Crimson Tide memory. So, even if he is lightly behind Smith in terms of numbers, it doesn’t disregard his eminence as the supreme WR in the program and in the nation as well.

But the best part is, unlike the others, Smith and William have a very sporting air of competition between them. At least this is how Smith seems it to be.

Jeremiah Smith is proud of what Ryan Williams achieved 

“Whenever I have time, I watch their game when we’re not playing and I’ve just seen him ba-l out. I’m proud of him because we’ve talked here and there, and we met up on a visit one time and worked out together. It’s just cool to see someone like that, someone like me. Me and him are kind of the same. It’s just cool to see him ba-l out like that,” the Ohio State WR said in an interview back in September.

Williams has a strong family connection with the game. Ryan William Sr., the iconic ‘Hollywood’, instilled the very passion to pursue football in his son from a very tender age. When he watched his father return from practice and used to silently copy his drills in the backyard, destiny smiled. The kid has everything to make it big, bigger, and the biggest. But he is taking one at a time.

“I catch myself trying to be more vocal because leadership doesn’t have an age on it. I gotta do what I gotta do. Like [Tyler Booker], he’s not going to be here next year, so somebody’s got to step up,” Ryan Williams specified his locker room agenda for the coming year.

While the difference line between Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams has been pretty blurred, we better watch out for these two otherworldly talents to dominate CFB in the coming years.