Last year's Ohio State Buckeyes were a bit of a superteam. While they didn't go undefeated as some projected and hoped, they turned on the afterburners at the right time of the year en route to winning a National Championship. 

Making the right transfer portal additions and retaining key veterans made a huge impact, as Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, and countless others contributed to a dominant College Football Playoff run. But it also took key plays from freshmen like Jeremiah Smith and Eddrick Houston, as unlikely as it seemed this time last year.

Smith headlines the three Buckeyes who made the cover of EA Sports College Football 26. While the Buckeyes had a tremendous team, Smith and Alabama receiver and co-CFB26 co-cover star Ryan Williams discussed playing together.

It's possible that the Buckeyes would've had a historical receiving corps had Williams joined Ohio State. The two were in contact throughout their recruiting process, and they talked about joining up at one particular event.

“I tried to get him,” Williams told The Athletic. “I was like, c’mon, let’s team up. He was like, hmm. We thought about it.”

“It would’ve been crazy,” Smith said. “I don’t know how you stop that.”

“You can’t,” Williams replied."

Williams became the first Alabama star to make the cover of a college football video game since Mark Ingram's inclusion in the 2012 release. He was the second-best freshman receiver in the country, trailing Smith.

Both players should be comfortably in the 90s overall in this year's version of the game.

Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 16 touchdowns, plus hauled in the game-sealing reception against Notre Dame on a fourth-down heave from quarterback Will Howard. Williams is coming off an electric season where he totaled 48 catches for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Whether Williams slotted as the second or third option on Ohio State next to Smith and 2025 first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka doesn't matter; it would've been insane. Likewise, it would've been fun to have seen Jalen Milroe's development in 2024 with Smith and Williams to throw to at Alabama.

The two also discussed what impresses them most about each other.

“That speed,” Smith said of Williams. “His speed is different. I’ve got a little speed, but I’d take his speed for sure. I need that.”

What would Williams like from Smith? “He’s a big dog,” Williams said. “I wish my hands were bigger. If I had his hands, oh my goodness, it’d be crazy.”

While the two didn't mention whether they'd reconsider a transfer to unite somewhere after this season, it's a fun fantasy to think about what could've been.