Could Nick Marsh Be Better Than Jeremiah Smith?
A 2025-26 comparison of Indiana WR Nick Marsh and Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith on size, catching, usage, quarterbacks and stats ahead of the 2027 NFL draft.
November 11, 2026. Nick Marsh transferred from Michigan State to Indiana. Jeremiah Smith is still at Ohio State. Both are juniors and can enter the 2027 draft if they declare. On our current 2027 mock, Smith is No. 1 overall and Marsh is No. 20. The mock order is estimated from standings, and traded picks are not reflected.
Size
Marsh is listed at 6-3, 210. Smith is listed at 6-4, 222. Edge: Smith. Same type, but he is a bit taller and heavier.
Speed and strength
Neither has a publicly posted official college 40, and I could not independently confirm a meet-certified track time or a verified gym number. Those categories are left out rather than guessed.
Catching
PFF's Oct. 1, 2026 preview credited Smith with four career drops at Ohio State, 17 contested catches on 23 chances in a 10-game span, and an 86th-percentile contested-catch rate at that checkpoint. I could not find a matching current PFF drop or contested-catch rate for Marsh, so I am not inventing one. Marsh has the highlight-reel plays (a one-handed touchdown in his Indiana debut, per the team bio), but Smith's catch-point record is the one we can measure. Edge: Smith, on the verified data.
Getting open and usage
Through nine games, Smith has 69 catches for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns (7.7 catches, 133.3 yards per game). Marsh has 38-669-8 (4.2 and 74.3). Yards per catch are almost a wash: Marsh 17.6, Smith 17.4.
The roles are not the same. Smith has 69 of Ohio State's 202 completions and 1,200 of 2,882 passing yards, about 42% of the team's passing yards. Devin McCuin is next at 29-369-2 (Ohio State official stats; CBS Sports). At Indiana, Charlie Becker leads at 50-875-9. Marsh is second, with 38 of 138 completions and 669 of 2,100 passing yards, about 32% of the passing yards (Indiana official stats). PFF also logged a 29% target rate for Smith since 2024. Marsh is a featured piece. Smith is the offense. Edge: Smith in usage; Marsh in yards per catch, barely.
Quarterbacks
This is the fairest case for Marsh. In 2025 at Michigan State, he caught passes in a split room on a 4-8 team: Aidan Chiles (128 of 203, 1,392 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 interceptions) and Alessio Milivojevic (111 of 173, 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 interceptions), each in nine games (Michigan State official stats). At Indiana, Josh Hoover has completed 124 of 206 for 1,860 yards, 19 touchdowns and two interceptions. The Hoosiers are 8-1.
Smith has had more talent at quarterback and less stability lately. Julian Sayin has 131 of 192 for 2,007 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games. Freshman Luke Fahey has 66 of 101 for 823 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in six games and is the current starter (Ohio State official stats; ESPN). Smith has kept producing through the change, including seven catches for 133 yards against Oregon. Edge: Marsh has the cleaner 2026 quarterback situation. Smith has still done more with his.
2025, 2026 and the head-to-head
2025: Marsh, 12 games: 59-662-6, 11.2 yards per catch, 55.2 per game. Smith, 13 games: 87-1,243-12, 14.3 yards per catch, 95.6 per game. Smith was an All-American and finished sixth in Heisman voting. 2026, nine games: Marsh 38-669-8. Smith 69-1,200-14. Marsh already has more touchdowns than in all of 2025, and his yards per catch jumped from 11.2 to 17.6. Oct. 17 at Indiana: Ohio State won 19-15. Smith had four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Marsh had three for 57 and a touchdown.
Career: Marsh 138-1,980-17 in 32 games. Smith 232-3,758-41 in 38 games.
Verdict
Marsh is not better than Smith, and it is not close as an overall evaluation. Smith is bigger, much more productive in both seasons, the clear No. 1 option in his offense, and the one with a documented PFF catching profile. He is also No. 1 on our 2027 board.
Where Marsh can claim a real edge is context. His 2026 quarterback play is cleaner than Smith's midyear change, and far cleaner than Michigan State's 2025 split. His yards per catch now match Smith's, and eight touchdowns in nine games is a real leap. If the question is whether Marsh has closed the gap as Indiana's complementary No. 1, yes. If the question is whether he is better than Jeremiah Smith, today the answer is no.
Sources
The 2026 NFL redraft re-sorts every morning with the latest games.
