Ohio State Football: How Will the Buckeyes Replace Devin Smith?

By the end of the season, there wasn't a team in Ohio State's path that could contain Devin Smith.

The 6'1", 199-pound wide receiver had served as the Buckeyes' lethal deep threat during his tenure in Columbus, but the blazing pass-catcher hit his stride at the best possible time.

In the Big Ten title game against Wisconsin, when Ohio State desperately needed to make a statement for the College Football Playoff selection committee, Smith came through with the best performance of his collegiate career. 

Four catches. One hundred and thirty-seven yards. Three touchdowns.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

That performance helped the Buckeyes register a historic 59-0 thrashing of the Badgers—a victory that propelled Ohio State over Baylor and TCU and into the playoff, where it was matched up with top-ranked Alabama.

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide didn't have any answers for Smith either.

Smith notched catches of 40 and 47 yards in the Sugar Bowl, the latter of which went for a touchdown that gave Ohio State a lead it wouldn't surrender. Eleven days later, he got behind Oregon's defense for a 45-yard catch that set the Buckeyes up for their third touchdown in the title game.

Former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman knew what the Buckeyes had in Smith. 

“Best deep ball catcher in America that we have seen in a long time,” Herman said, according to James Grega Jr. of The Lantern, Ohio State's student newspaper.

The numbers back that up. 

According to CFBStats.com, Smith led the country in yards per reception by a wide margin in 2014, averaging 28.8 yards per catch. Even more impressively, the 12 touchdowns he registered averaged 39.1 yards, with a long of 80 (against Navy in the season opener).

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Smith didn't just provide Ohio State with the occasional big play. When he was on the field, he kept opposing defenses honest. It was hard for safeties to creep up and support the run when he was on the perimeter, just waiting for an opportunity to hit the burners and make them pay.

If the Buckeyes can't find a suitable deep threat to replace Smith, their offense won't be as dynamic. Wide receivers coach Zach Smith knows how daunting that challenge will be for his unit this season.

"That's a lot of production that just walked out the door and is gonna be playing on Sundays," Zach Smith said, via Bill Landis of The Plain Dealer. "So now I gotta replace that production with young guys who haven't stepped into that role, who need to step into that role."

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, Urban Meyer has recruited a number of wideouts with blazing speed. Those are resources Zach Smith plans on using this season, according to Eric Seger of The Ozone.

"

At the end of the day you need guys with speed and we have a number of them. Johnnie Dixon’s a great example, when he comes back. He is an elite guy. James Clark was before his injury, so when he gets healthy and gets confident, he’ll be a guy that we look to.

And then Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell are two guys that can really run. We’ve got four young guys that haven’t done much around here that can flat fly. So it’s going to be fun to watch and fun to develop and interesting to see how it plays out.

"

Will any of the players listed above be able to step up and give Ohio State the deep threat Devin Smith provided over the last four years? 

If the Buckeyes fail to do so, a run to—and through—next year's College Football Playoff won't be so easy.

David Regimbal is the lead Ohio State football writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.