Ohio State defensive lineman Will Smith, a hometown kid, is morphing into a key contributor for the Buckeyes so far this season.
Will Smith Jr was born and raised a little under 20 minutes away from Ohio Stadium and the campus of The Ohio State University. His dad, Will Smith Sr, helped bring home the 2002 National Championship for the Buckeyes as a defensive lineman. Twenty-three years later, his son was able to do the same thing and is now making a significant impact on the Buckeyes’ defensive line.
Smith Jr didn’t receive a ton of interest coming out of Dublin Coffman High School, a high school that also produced future first-round pick Brady Quinn, as well as beloved walk-on Mason Maggs. He received offers from Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Illinois, Kentucky, and several other schools. The former 3-star recruit could have gone to either of the major power schools that offered him and played almost instantly, but he chose to stay home and continue his father’s legacy, helping to bring gold back to Columbus.
The six-foot-four lineman has seen an increase in his snaps received per game this season. Just recently, against Minnesota, he played a career-high 22 snaps and has recorded a total of eight tackles this season so far. Smith has always found a way to come up big whether its a key block shed or a nice run stop, he is always making his name known when he is on the field. Whenever Minnesota would run it, number fifty-three would always be somewhere near the rusher.
Depth in late for Ohio State. Really good rep from the Nose (Will Smith Jr.).
“Cheeking” the block back from the Center with pull away. Extension, eyes, ball into secondary gap, arm over block release.
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— The Ballmanac (@The_Ballmanac) October 7, 2025
Earlier in the season, Defensive Line Coach Larry Johnson would say this about Smith: “He’s a great fit in that position… He’s 295 pounds, 6-3, and has great quicks. He’s stronger now than he was before he came in. He’s an ideal guy to look for at our nose guard position. So he’s a good fit for us.” The staff views Smith as a developmental piece and has taken their time molding him into the game plan, little by little, every week.
Yes, it has been tough for Smith Jr to get on the field as he is behind a future first-round pick, Kayden McDonald, and splitting snaps with Tywone Malone and former five-star Eddrick Houston to see who gets the number two spot on the depth chart. But every chance he has gotten so far to get himself ahead of the pack, he has done nothing but impress.
Kayden McDonald, Will Smith Jr. and Jermaine Mathews Jr. received the top grades from Pro Football Focus among Ohio State players who played at least 10 snaps in the season opener. https://t.co/NmS2kf8CNr
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 3, 2025
Against Texas, he was one of two players on defense to finish with an above 80 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade; the only other player to get above that number was fellow defensive tackle Kayden McDonald. Other Notable games included a 74 PFF grade against Minnesota and a 70 PFF grade as the defensive tackle leader in nine snaps against Washington.
From being a hometown kid, growing up going to Buckeye games, to now being a Buckeye and creating his own legacy, Will Smith Jr looks to continue his father’s name as Buckeye Royalty for the years to come.
AJ is currently a freshman at Bowling Green State University. He has been a sports fan and Ohio State fan since he was a kid, and has been covering sports since 2020. He was a student manager for his Boy’s Basketball team for two seasons where the team won back to back league championships. AJ runs his own podcast called Just Talkin Sports, where he interviews athletes from all sports. He has over 1,800 plays on Spotify and 300 followers on Instagram. AJ plans to study Sport Management and minor in Journalism while also becoming a student manager for BGSU.