James Smith
Ohio State Buckeyes
85
Great

James Smith

Ohio State BuckeyesElite
DTDefenseGreatTRANSFER · Alabama
2nd String / Backup

Is James Smith starting?

James Smith is listed 2nd string at DT for Ohio State Buckeyes.

Senior · #3 · 6'3", 310 lbs

See full Ohio State Buckeyes depth chart ›
Play Dynasty as Coach Ohio StateFree. You call every play.

Depth at DT · Ohio State Buckeyes

  1. 19691Eddrick HoustonStarter
  2. 2385James SmithYou
  3. 35375Will Smith Jr.
  4. 49162Darryus McKinley
  5. 55958Ashton Yeager

Ohio State Starting Lineup

Full Ohio State depth chart ›

Top defensive linemen in the Big Ten

Tobi OsunsanmiIndiana · STUDSahir WestUCLA · DEKenneth MerrieweatherIowa · LDE

The Story

A Five-Star Talent

A 5-star recruit out of Carver Montgomery, ranked #27 nationally coming out of high school. This season: 26 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks. That's 5% of the team's production at his spot and 89th-percentile production nationally — good for a 85 overall (Great tier).

Recruit5★ · #27 NatlTeam Share5%Percentile89th
Montgomery, AL
Jersey
#3
Class
SR/TR
Height
6'3"
Weight
310 lbs
Transfer
Alabama

Stats

SeasonTklTFLSacks
—266.52.5

Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.

Recruiting Profile

Stars
★★★★★5-star
Composite
0.9877
National Rank
#27
High School
Carver Montgomery
Hometown
Montgomery, AL

Why this rating?

On a 94-rated defense; 89th-percentile production at transfer origin (×0.98 for competition level) put them +6 vs unit starters → 85.

Team defense (SP+)
94
Rating basis
On-field stats
Production (prior school)
Outperforms 89% of peers
Recruiting pedigree
Top 8% recruit
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×0.98)
Depth-chart adjustment
+6 for role; −6 depth penalty

2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.

2026 Game Log

Oct 3WIOWATKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
1

Final W 31-14

Sep 26WILLTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 42-19

Sep 19WKENTTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 59-3

Sep 12LTEXTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 24-23

Sep 5WBALLTKL 2
TKL
2
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 56-3

James Smith's 2026 game-by-game stat log.

The People's Ratings

Is our 85 OVR fair?
85
Great
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Team Role

26 tkl · 6.5 TFL · 2.5 sacks
Usage / Involvement63%
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Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.