Curt Cignetti didn’t need long to make the point.
When asked Monday about Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the Indiana coach reached for the kind of language that usually gets reserved for rarefied talent.
“There’s no one like him right now, playing at this level,” Cignetti said during Monday’s press conference. “He’s a freak. And we’re gonna have to do a great job on him.”
That is the assignment waiting for No. 5 Indiana on Saturday, when the Hoosiers host No.
4 Ohio State at Memorial Stadium. Smith has become the centerpiece of the Buckeyes’ passing game, and Indiana’s secondary will look a lot different than it did in last year’s meetings with him.
Through six games, Smith has piled up 48 catches for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 152.7 yards per game and 19.1 yards per catch. He has been even hotter lately, putting up 516 yards and eight scores across his last three outings, including back-to-back 200-yard games against Illinois and Iowa.
The big plays come in bunches. Of his 48 receptions, 23 have gone for at least 15 yards, 10 have reached 25 yards or more, and 39 of them have moved the chains.
Indiana has had some success against him before, though. In the 2024 regular season, Smith managed only three catches for 34 yards against the Hoosiers. He later came back with eight receptions for 144 yards in last season’s Big Ten championship game.
Even with that production in Indianapolis, Indiana still held Ohio State to 10 points in a 13-10 win, and Smith again finished without a touchdown. Repeating that kind of night is going to be harder now, because the personnel around him in the Indiana secondary has changed.
Last season, Indiana leaned heavily on All-American cornerback D’Angelo Ponds in those matchups. Ponds, who also attended Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in South Florida with Smith, is now in the NFL. That has pushed redshirt senior Jamari Sharpe into the spotlight as Indiana’s top corner after starting opposite Ponds a year ago.
Sharpe may have flown a little under the radar nationally, but his production says plenty. He posted an 84.6 Pro Football Focus coverage grade last season, which ranked 17th nationally among qualifying cornerbacks, and added 50 tackles with six pass breakups.
He also had one of the biggest plays in Indiana’s national championship run, intercepting Miami quarterback Carson Beck to clinch the Hoosiers’ victory in January.
Now Sharpe carries even more weight as Indiana’s clear No. 1 corner, and Smith looks like his toughest individual test yet.
The Hoosiers have dealt with injury issues at the position as well, with AJ Harris returning against Nebraska after an extended absence. His comeback gives Indiana another veteran option as it tries to slow an Ohio State passing attack built around Smith.
Indiana’s safety play will matter, too. After the departures of Louis Moore and Devan Boykin, both of whom used up their eligibility after last season’s national championship run, the Hoosiers have turned to Amare Ferrell and Wisconsin transfer Preston Zachman to hold down the back end. Ferrell had four interceptions during Indiana’s 2025 championship season, while Zachman arrived with seven career picks.
That duo gives defensive coordinator Bryant Haines more flexibility with help over the top, and that could be crucial against a receiver who can win deep, stack defenders and make contested grabs.
Ohio State has also been smart about how it uses Smith. The Buckeyes move him around the formation and feed him with deep routes, multiple-move concepts and shorter throws designed to get the ball into his hands.
He has been targeted 67 times in six games, which accounts for about 37% of Ohio State’s passing attempts.
Ryan Day wasn’t exactly subtle when describing the challenge.
“If it’s one-on-one, he’s open. If he’s double covered, he’s sort of open. If he’s triple covered, he’s covered,” Day said.
The comment was playful, but it underscored the Buckeyes’ confidence in Smith’s ability to produce no matter what Indiana throws at him.
Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones pointed to that same versatility Tuesday.
“Whether it’s a quadruple move down the middle of the field or they’re going to turn him a screen, he can turn it on like that and start getting vertical,” Jones said.
Jones also noted that Smith is dangerous well beyond the downfield shots. Even shorter catches over the middle can turn into explosive plays once he gets rolling.
That puts extra pressure on Indiana’s linebackers and safeties to stay disciplined on intermediate routes while making sure a routine catch does not turn into something much worse.
It also raises the stakes on tackling. Indiana missed 11 tackles against Nebraska, and against a receiver this dangerous after the catch, that kind of slippage can get ugly fast.
Getting to Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin would help, too. The less time Sayin has to let routes develop, the better Indiana’s chances of avoiding those extended coverage battles Smith thrives in.
“He’s taken it up a notch without question,” Cignetti said. “We’re gonna have to do a great job on him.”
Indiana has already shown it can beat Ohio State without completely erasing Smith. But with the Buckeyes’ star receiver playing at this level and a revamped secondary tasked with handling him, the Hoosiers will need another sharp, disciplined performance Saturday.
Over two career meetings, Smith has totaled 178 receiving yards against Indiana. He still has not scored on the Hoosiers.
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