Jeremiah Smith cements his status as the fastest-rising star in college football, poised for NFL success

PASADENA, Calif. — As the final 10 minutes of a confoundingly lopsided College Football Playoff quarterfinal drained from the Rose Bowl Stadium clock, Chris Smith shuffled his way through Row 18 of Section 3 until he reached an aisle. The father of Ohio State’s most famous player — freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, the most talented wideout in the country — sported a scarlet sweatsuit provided to him by Battle Sports, the football apparel company with which his son had signed an endorsement deal. He pulled the hood over his head as the evening temperature dipped into the upper 50s and a set of headphones wrapped around his ears. Aside from the fact that he was seated in the Buckeyes’ family section, which occupied the first few rows behind Ohio State’s bench, there was nothing to indicate that Chris Smith bore any relation to the sport’s fastest-growing star, the offensive MVP from what ended as a 41-21 annihilation of top-seeded Oregon.