The Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day continued his trend of poaching coordinators from the NFL by signing Arthur Smith to run the team’s offense in 2026.
Smith was notably the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons between stints as offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers. He brings 13 years of NFL coaching experience to the table. Day will hope to lean on this experience as he leads the team in pursuit of his second title.
The question this season is not whether Ohio State can contend for the championship; anything less than that is unacceptable for Day’s Buckeyes. The question is centered around how Smith’s NFL-forged philosophy will impact their biggest stars.
Smith has spent his entire NFL career building run-first, physical, play-action offenses. Whether in Tennessee, Atlanta, or Pittsburgh, establishing the ground game has always come first. He is the only coordinator or head coach in modern NFL history with seven different backs rushing for 1,000 yards in a seven-year span. That list includes the likes of Derrick Henry, Bijan Robinson, and Najee Harris.
Smith’s usual scheme leans heavily on two or three tight end sets and strives to utilize the play-action to its fullest extent. This creates natural run-blocking advantages while still presenting legitimate pass threats down the field.
Smith’s offensive philosophy is quite simple. Control the line of scrimmage to set up play-action, allowing for the exploit of defenses over the top. In 2020, his Tennessee Titans finished third in total offense and fourth in scoring offense.
Seeing what Smith can do in the NFL, where parity is the standard, what might he accomplish with the Buckeyes and their wealth of talent at every offensive position?
No player on Ohio State’s offense stands to benefit more from Smith’s arrival than sophomore running back Lamar “Bo” Jackson.
As a freshman in 2025, Jackson rushed for 1,090 yards and 6 touchdowns in an otherwise inconsistent Buckeyes ground game. Ohio State ranked 72nd in the nation in rushing offense last season.
That is precisely where Smith comes in. His track record of elevating running backs to breakout seasons is unmatched among active coordinators.
Smith does not simply hand the ball to talented backs and hope for results. He constructs entire offensive structures around establishing the run.
Scheming up creative rushing lanes to make his backs’ jobs measurably easier is another staple of Smith’s offenses. He was a former offensive lineman and spent his early career as an offensive line coach. That background is on full display when he’s building a dominant run game.
Smith knows from experience what deficiencies can be exploited in a defensive line, and carries a personal appreciation for the work solid blockers paired with a smart runner can accomplish.
Jackson is entering his second season with a stronger body and a full year of experience. With Smith’s plans to shore up the offensive line, Jackson could be looking at a 1,400-plus-yard, 10 TD sophomore season.
A campaign like that would shore up the Buckeyes’ main offensive weakness from last season’s disappointing exit so early in the playoffs.
Julian Sayin finished 2025 as a Heisman finalist in his first year as starter for the Buckeyes. The good news is that Smith’s run-heavy offenses have not held quarterbacks back statistically. Just the opposite, in fact.
Ryan Tannehill posted a 117.5 passer rating in 2019 under Smith and made his first Pro Bowl. That efficiency came because the run game kept defenses honest. It reduced the number of difficult throws required.
Sayin already turned heads with his 77% completion percentage in 2025. A dominant run game can only serve to decrease the difficulty of his throws by keeping linebackers and safeties honest. That’s the beauty of Smith’s focus on setting up the play-action.
Sayin will not be asked to carry the offense alone in 2026. He will be asked to operate efficiently, make smart decisions, and connect with elite weapons when defenses over-commit to stopping the run. That plays right into his already established strengths.
Smith’s scheme is a recipe that produced Pro Bowl quarterbacks at the NFL level. It should allow Sayin to take another step forward heading into his junior season. With no clear front-runner this off-season, Sayin might just bring home the eighth Heisman trophy in Buckeyes history.
Jeremiah Smith is the best wide receiver in college football. Possibly the best player in the entire NCAA right now. The two-time AP All-American is widely projected as a top five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and is expected to have a storied career in the NFL.
Some fans might worry about a run-heavy system limiting Jeremiah’s target volume. That concern is likely overblown.
When Arthur coached A.J. Brown in Tennessee, Brown eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons. Brown scored 19 touchdowns in 30 games, all within a run-first system.
The wonderful thing about a focus on play-action is that it creates some of the most explosive receiving opportunities in football. Safeties cheat toward the box, leaving receivers in favorable one-on-one situations downfield. Where does Jeremiah shine? When he’s left alone on an island against a defensive back.
Jeremiah could actually be the biggest beneficiary of the new system. Heavy tight end formations draw linebacker attention and open up space on the perimeter. A run first offense pulls in the safeties, leaving less space for help should a cornerback get beat.
The new offensive scheme can only serve to pull bodies away from defending Jeremiah’s routes. We’ve seen what he can do in double and triple coverage, now imagine what will happen as he gets more one-on-one looks.
Furthermore, Jeremiah could see a more varied route tree under Smith, working consistently in the intermediate game rather than just attacking deep on the perimeter. Arthur likes the quick strike off play-action over the middle. This is something that past Buckeyes coordinators failed to scheme for the star receiver, despite his size and speed making him perfect for such use.
Under a play-action framework and with Sayin continuing to develop, the connection between the young quarterback and superstar wide receiver should be more dangerous than ever.
Both players were considered for the Heisman at one point this past season. I see no reason the same can’t be true again in 2026.
Smith’s scheme is built around tight ends, and Ohio State’s tight end room enters 2026 with a lot of new faces. The Buckeyes lost their entire core at the position this off-season. Of course that means fans have some questions about who is going to step up and shine under Smith.
Max Klare declared for the 2026 NFL Draft after leading the room in production. Will Kacmarek exhausted his eligibility, and Jelani Thurman transferred out. That is a lot of production and experience walking out the door at once.
Yet there’s reason for hope, as the Buckeyes responded aggressively in the transfer portal. Mason Williams arrives from Ohio University, alongside Hunter Welcing following his transfer from Northwestern.
Williams’ calling card is blocking. He earned a run-blocking grade of 66.7 on Pro Football Focus last season, making him a natural fit for the physical brand of football Smith wants to play. He profiles as a classic “dirty work” tight end who sets the tone up front on early downs.
As we saw in Pittsburgh with the emergence of Darnell Washington, Smith likes to put his large blocking tight ends to use in the passing game. Expect Williams to see some looks, especially at the goal line and in short yardage situations.
Welcing, on the other hand, brings a different skill set to Columbus. At six feet three inches and 250 pounds, Welcing has the frame to hold up as a blocker while also creating genuine mismatches for defenses in the passing game. His solid hands and years of experience mean he’ll likely be used as a safety valve over the middle when the deep throw just isn’t there.
With one season of eligibility remaining and invaluable Big Ten experience, Welcing will undoubtedly serve as the veteran presence to a room that sorely needs it.
Neither Williams nor Welcing put up flashy numbers in 2025, but that is almost beside the point. In Smith’s offense, tight ends are the engine, not the headliners. The big stats will belong to the running backs and receivers.
What Ohio State needs from its tight ends is effort, reliability, and the ability to move defenders. Both transfers profile as exactly that. Joining a Buckeyes offense under Smith could be the best thing to ever happen to their careers.
When it comes to the Ohio State tight end room, the name to watch above all others might just be sophomore Nate Roberts. Rated a top-ten tight end prospect coming out of high school, he spent his freshman year dropping hints that the best version of him has not yet arrived.
Roberts was mostly utilized as a blocker last season, including seeing usage out of the backfield as a fullback. That skill set will keep him on the field, giving him a chance to step up and lay claim to the 43 receptions that went Klare’s way in 2025.
As the youngest of the bunch and the most decorated coming out of high school, Roberts has more upside than any tight end on the roster. Smith’s system just might be able to unlock him as a pass catcher in the seam and over the middle, making the Buckeyes’ offense very difficult to defend.
The competition between Williams, Welcing, and Roberts will be one of the most important story-lines of the off-season.
The Buckeyes’ offense ranked 18th in scoring and 24th in total yards to end the 2025 season. Part of that was the intentionally slow and measured pace of play that Day chose for the team. Still, that is below the standard the program holds itself to, and well below what the team’s offensive weapons are capable of.
Smith stepping in as offensive coordinator addresses the most glaring weakness from last season; a ground game that never truly found its footing. With Jackson ready to explode, Jeremiah returning as the nation’s premier receiver, and Sayin entering Year Two, the pieces are in place for a dramatic offensive resurgence.
Day has made a habit of trusting former NFL coaches to transform his units. Matt Patricia’s defensive transformation in 2025 proved that the model works. Now it is the offense’s turn. The talent is there, the system is proven, and Smith has done this all before. Columbus is on the verge of building one of the most complete offenses in the country.
Exactly what they need to win it all.
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