Jeremiah Smith has been the most talked-about player across college football ever since the calendar flipped to January, or even before then.
The discussions involving Smith's name have somehow picked up this offseason. And as the 19-year-old is one of three players to represent Ohio State at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas this week, along with Caleb Downs and Sonny Styles, everyone has continued to talk about him, coaches and analysts alike. If they weren't talking about him to other players or coaches, it was because analysts were talking to Smith himself.
During his media session on Tuesday, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti didn't hold back when it came to discussing Smith's dominance.
"You cover him as well as you can and hope the ball is not placed well.. he's a freak"
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) July 22, 2025
I asked Curt Cignetti about Jeremiah Smith, he said he's one of the best receiver's he's seen at that age.
Cignetti said he's similar to Julio Jones but Smith is faster and more flexible: pic.twitter.com/vCuzjK6UCT
"You cover him as well as you can and hope the ball is not placed well. I mean, he's a freak. He's a great player – the greatest at that position that I've seen at that age. He's a weapon."
Ironically, Smith's second-worst game of his freshman campaign came against the Hoosiers in 2024, catching only three passes for 34 yards against Cignetti's squad last November.
"You cover him as well as you can and hope the ball is not placed well.– Curt Cignetti
That said, the Indiana coach, who has made quite a name for himself for speaking his mind, knows how good Smith is and can be. So good that Cignetti compared the 6-foot-3, 215-pound wideout to an all-time great that he once coached in Tuscaloosa.
As Alabama's wide receivers coach from 2007-10 on Nick Saban's staff, Cignetti coached Julio Jones when he was with the Crimson Tide from 2008-10. While Smith is a once-in-a-generation wide receiver, Jones is one of the many wide receivers that the sophomore is compared to.
"Julio was also a great player. Very similar. (Smith) is a little looser, more flexible, I think – Maybe a hair faster," Cignetti said.
“Julio was also a great player. Very similar. (Smith) is a little looser, more flexible, I think – Maybe a hair faster.”– Curt Cignetti, comparing Jeremiah Smith to Julio Jones
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Jones went on to be the No. 6 pick in the 2011 NFL draft and concluded an illustrious 13-year NFL career in 2023. That's certainly not a bad player to be compared to, but even then, many believe that Smith can be even better than that.
For comparison's sake, Ryan Day continued to praise Smith, much like he has since the moment he almost fell to his knees when Smith signed his National Letter of Intent – and even before then.
"He's gotten bigger and stronger and faster than he was last year," Day said of the soon-to-be sophomore. "He just sets such a standard. And you don't need to motivate Jeremiah. ... He may not be an older guy, he may not be vocal in terms of his leadership, but what he does on the field speaks for himself. ... He deserves an opportunity to be here today and that's why he's here."
The Big Ten's unanimous All-Big Ten selection by the media heading into the upcoming season, Smith had a fabulous freshman season. In his first season as a Buckeye, he shattered all of Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter's Ohio State freshman records with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-American by some outlets and was voted by the league's coaches as the Big Ten's Richter-Howard Wide Receiver of the Year and the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year.
