After Tai Felton and Kaden Prather were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft last weekend, one man stands atop Maryland football’s receiver room: Octavian Smith Jr.

As the only player still on Maryland’s roster that finished top six in receiving yards last season and one of three seniors at the position, expectations have soared. He is no longer the young, speedy gadget receiver who occasionally flashes his potential on an end–around or shovel pass. His responsibility has multiplied, but Smith said he’s built for it.

“When the pressure’s on, I don’t really fold,” Smith said. “When things get rough, we need a play, I want [the team] to come look for me.”

Smith not only has an obligation to the team, but to himself. With NFL aspirations, Smith has one more season to prove he deserves a shot at the next level and continue a long list of NFL-caliber receivers to come out of College Park in recent years.

“[There’s] really a sense of urgency,” Smith said. “It being my last year … now [I’m] at a point in time [where I] really got to dig deep within [myself] and lay it all on the line.”

Smith has channeled this into motivation for the upcoming season, approaching it with an ultra-focused mindset.

In his first outing as Maryland’s go-to receiver in the Red-White Spring Game on Saturday, Smith won the JoJo Walker Wide Receiver Award after he hauled in a game-high five catches for 17 yards and a touchdown from freshman quarterback Malik Washington.

His success this spring marks a continuation of the steady improvement Smith has shown since he arrived in College Park. As a freshman, Smith appeared in all 13 games as a receiver and kick returner, recording 12 receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including an impressive catch in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against NC State.

Smith totaled 10 more receptions and 52 more yards in his sophomore season than his freshman one. And the progress persisted into his third year, when Smith established himself as a starting receiver and posted 30 receptions for 315 yards and two touchdowns.

Head coach Michael Locksley has likened Smith’s development to Felton’s, who was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings Friday night after leading the Big Ten in receptions (96) and receiving yards (1,124) in the regular season.

“He’s a guy that has kind of followed along that Tai Felton path,” Locksley said after the spring game. “As a freshman, he contributed … year two, his catches went up, his numbers went up, his reliability went up, showing up for the things he needs to do to be a better player. His junior year, he’s really grown. And now, he’s the guy that’s kind of the old man in the room per se, and I like what I’m seeing out of Octavian.”

Being one of the oldest and most experienced players at his position not only comes with a production expectation, but a leadership one as well. Luckily for the Terps, leading an offense comes naturally to Smith, who played quarterback at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Maryland.

Smith has always been the lead-by-example type. His play on the field spoke for itself in high school, but Smith’s success started in practice. During 100-yard sprints, Smith made sure to finish at the back of the end zone, pushing himself those extra 10 yards. Soon enough, his teammates followed suit, Paint Branch head coach Michael Nesmith said.

“Being a leader, that’s something I’ve always had in me,” Smith said. “There’s pressure that comes behind that, but I’m built for it, so there’s really nothing new to me.”

Unselfishness is also an essential part of being a leader, and nothing displays Smith’s attitude more than the first play of his senior year highlight reel.

Yet getting to this point as a player and leader was never a given for Smith. Although his freakish athleticism and large hands made the transition from quarterback to receiver gracious, off the field issues held Smith back — but not in the traditional sense.

For most of his football career, Smith has been a larger-than-life, overly-positive personality. But he is also very sympathetic, and thus outside problems sometimes bled into his play on the field.

“He’s sensitive, in a positive way, and he can internalize drama and problems and issues going on amongst his friend circle, or his family even, and they can affect him,” Nesmith said. “He wants to be the problem solver, and when you’re playing at that level and the stakes are so high, sometimes that can distract you.”

As a result, Smith started last summer behind the eight ball, Locksley said. But he’s changed his habits since then and learned to compartmentalize his life, focusing on football when needed while still being there for others, Smith said.

The adjustment from bad to winning habits, as Locksley called it, powered Smith’s improvement this past season and serves as something he can build upon.

“He’s somebody that the fans can really root for. He truly is one of the good guys,” Nesmith said. “In today’s day and age, and I can’t knock the guys that get the money … and have different motivations, to each his own, [but] he still has a genuine purity of heart and spirit that is something to aspire to.”