When Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti took the podium at Big Ten Media Days, the last thing anyone expected was for him to steal the spotlight with high-octane praise for a player from another program. But that’s exactly what happened when Cignetti turned the conversation toward Ohio State’s freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith. The usually buttoned-up coach couldn’t hide his admiration, using terms like “freak,” “weapon,” and—perhaps most telling of all—invoking the name of NFL great Julio Jones in a direct comparison. In an environment that usually revolves around cautious optimism, veiled strategic plans, and coach-speak clichés, Cignetti’s glowing endorsement of Smith turned heads and sent shockwaves through college football circles.
What makes the moment even more fascinating is the context. Cignetti, known for his pragmatic approach and defensive-minded coaching philosophy, has never been one to toss out compliments lightly—especially not to a rival team’s star. Yet when asked about the talent he’s seen across the Big Ten, Cignetti didn’t hesitate. “Jeremiah Smith? That kid’s a freak. I mean that in the best possible way. He’s a weapon—straight up. The way he moves, the way he attacks the football, his body control… He’s different,” Cignetti said, leaning into the mic with conviction. And then came the showstopper: “He reminds me of a young Julio Jones.”
Julio Jones. A name that carries immense weight in football lore. A transcendent talent who dominated at Alabama and became one of the most feared wide receivers in the NFL for a decade. To be compared to Jones is to be compared to one of the physical marvels of the sport, a player who was almost impossible to guard at the college level and even harder to stop in the pros. For Cignetti to draw that parallel to a player who hasn’t even started his first collegiate game? That’s unprecedented.
But when you look at Jeremiah Smith, the comparison doesn’t feel entirely outrageous. Smith was already a known commodity before stepping foot in Columbus. A consensus five-star recruit and the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2024 class, Smith shattered high school defenses with a rare blend of speed, strength, and technical prowess. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, his physical frame alone makes him a nightmare matchup for cornerbacks. But what really separates Smith is his polish. His route running is refined. His hands are elite. His body control in contested catch situations is advanced beyond his years. Every report out of Ohio State’s offseason program has described him as “unguardable,” and those claims were only amplified after summer workouts and team drills.
Cignetti, who got a close look at Ohio State’s personnel through scouting and film review, said Smith was impossible to ignore. “When you watch tape, your eye just goes to him. I’ve seen a lot of great players over the years, but very few who pop like that. You can’t teach what he has,” Cignetti said. It’s worth noting that Cignetti has coached and recruited at every level of football—from the lower-tier ranks to top-flight Power Five programs—so his words carry significant weight. He has seen talent in raw form and in its most refined state, and he knows how rare true game-changers are.
Smith’s emergence adds yet another layer of intrigue to the already complex web of Big Ten dynamics. Ohio State, long seen as the gold standard of offensive firepower in the conference, may have just added a player who can stretch the gap even further. With Ryan Day orchestrating the offense and a quarterback room brimming with talent, Smith could find himself in a position to contribute immediately and make a national impact as a true freshman.
But Cignetti’s comments go beyond mere flattery. In many ways, they’re a strategic recognition of the looming challenge his Hoosiers will face. Indiana, which has struggled to find consistency in recent seasons, now must brace for an offensive juggernaut that features a player Cignetti openly calls “a weapon of mass destruction.” The subtext here is clear: Cignetti knows what’s coming, and he’s trying to prepare his team for the level of excellence they’ll have to compete against.
Beyond the strategic implications, there’s a larger narrative about the evolution of college football talent. Players like Smith are redefining the standard for incoming freshmen. The days when first-year players needed multiple seasons to develop and contribute are fading. Instead, high school stars arrive ready to dominate, thanks to enhanced training regimens, 7-on-7 circuits, and early exposure to college-level systems. Smith is emblematic of this new era—a player whose game is already so refined that even opposing coaches feel compelled to acknowledge it in public forums.
For fans of Indiana and the Big Ten at large, Cignetti’s remarks offered a glimpse into the respect Ohio State continues to command across the landscape. But more importantly, they gave the college football world an early warning about the player who may soon be its biggest star. If Jeremiah Smith lives up to even half the hype, if he’s even close to the second coming of Julio Jones, the Buckeyes will not just be in the playoff conversation—they’ll be a national title favorite.
Recruiting experts have long salivated over Smith’s tape. His dominance at IMG Academy, where he routinely lined up against other top-tier recruits and made them look ordinary, was the stuff of legend. But even those glowing evaluations didn’t prepare observers for how quickly he would rise within the Ohio State program. Reports from insiders suggest that Smith has already earned significant reps with the first-team offense, and he’s made several jaw-dropping plays in team scrimmages. One source from within the program even suggested that Smith could be “the best freshman we’ve ever had at this position.”
If that sounds like hyperbole, consider the lineage of wide receivers that Ohio State has produced in recent years. Garrett Wilson. Chris Olave. Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Marvin Harrison Jr. These aren’t just elite college players—they’re first-round NFL picks and potential stars at the next level. For someone inside the program to suggest Smith could top that list is borderline outrageous—but also tantalizing.
Cignetti’s remarks may go down as one of the early confirmations of what could become a generational career. To see a rival coach willingly praise a freshman with such intensity is rare in itself. But when that coach is Curt Cignetti—an old-school football mind who values toughness, preparation, and discipline above all else—it carries an even heavier resonance. He’s not easily impressed. He doesn’t toss out comparisons to NFL legends lightly. And yet, he’s all in on Jeremiah Smith.
From a psychological perspective, Cignetti’s move could also be seen as a challenge to his own team. By recognizing greatness elsewhere, he’s setting a benchmark for his players to rise to. He’s saying, in effect, “This is the level we’re chasing. This is what dominance looks like.” It’s a motivational tactic as much as it is a tactical warning.
Of course, football is not played on microphones or in media interviews. It’s played on the field. And for all the buzz surrounding Smith, he still has to prove it when the lights come on. He still has to make those contested catches against elite cornerbacks, still has to endure the grind of a full season, and still has to live up to the weight of expectations. But when someone like Curt Cignetti throws down the gauntlet and invokes the name of Julio Jones, it’s hard not to believe that Smith is more than ready.
The Big Ten is evolving, and talent like Jeremiah Smith is accelerating that evolution. With realignment bringing new programs into the mix and playoff stakes rising higher than ever, the margin for error is shrinking. Teams need game-breakers. They need players who can win one-on-one matchups and change the course of a game with a single play. Smith fits that mold—and then some.
If Cignetti’s words are prophetic, if Smith truly is the “freak” and “weapon” he appears to be, then college football fans are in for a show. The comparisons to Julio Jones may seem lofty now, but in a few months, they might feel just right. And if that’s the case, then the 2025 college football season could be defined not by quarterbacks or coaches, but by a freshman wide receiver who already has rival coaches in awe.
