Kirk Ferentz compares Ohio State phenom to Saquon Barkley, Randy Moss

The Big Ten Conference is home to some of the best players college football has to offer. Iowa will have to contend with one of those players on Saturday.

The 14th-ranked Hawkeyes are hosting No. 6 Ohio State this weekend in a battle of top-15 foes. The Buckeyes are perennially one of the best teams in college football, featuring a roster scattered with elite talent. This year’s team is no different. 

While there are great players everywhere for Ryan Day’s team, one guy has risen above the rest: third-year wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The 6-foot-4, 222-pound receiver has lit up the college football world from the moment he stepped foot on campus as a freshman.

He’s Ohio State’s all-time leading receiver, breaking the record held by Michael Jenkins in just over two years of play. In his career, he has 196 receptions for 3,175 yards and 34 touchdowns. This season, Smith already has 33 receptions for 617 yards and seven touchdowns. Last week against Illinois, he had 12 receptions for 217 yards and four touchdowns.

At his weekly Tuesday media availability, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was very complimentary of Smith. He compared the Ohio State phenom to a pair of elite players.

"But you talk about Smith, there are several guys over the last 20-plus years. First guy that comes to mind would be Saquon Barkley. Just different guys," Ferentz said. "They're at a little different level. The performance Barkley had against us out there is about as impressive as you're going to see. I thought we knocked him out of the game. He took a hit on one of those plays and came back in a couple plays later. It's amazing. Really a good player, plus great toughness, and he's doing the same thing in the NFL.

"This guy, I remember two years ago getting ready a couple plays he had made the week before that he's perfectly defended and he still makes the play. Sometimes that's the way it goes.

"I remember being up in New England's camp late 2000s and seeing Randy Moss do the same thing on a red zone play. I was sitting next to the secondary coach and he looked at me and just went like that (shrugging). That's what great players do.

"If you can find a way to maybe make them a little bit off their rhythm, that's a good thing, but it's easier said than done. Then usually if you do one thing, you're compensating somewhere else or just giving something else somewhere else. It's a tricky one."

Smith has played Iowa once in his career, as a freshman in 2024. He had four receptions for 89 yards and a highlight-reel, one-handed touchdown grab.

Third-year Iowa corner Jaylen Watson, who could garner the assignment of matching up against Smith, discussed what he is expecting from the matchup.

"I think it's being physical, having the utmost confidence. We're here for a reason," Watson said. "For him to be that size, his speed, his strength, his ability to go up there and get the ball, his ability to run past people also, he's a great player. He's a superstar for a reason. So I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge Saturday."

Watson is a 5-foot-11, 187-pound corner. Iowa's other top corner is fifth-year Deshaun Lee, who is a 5-foot-10, 189-pound defensive back.

Phil Parker will look to contain Smith this time around as the Hawkeyes search for another signature victory.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Kirk Ferentz compares Ohio State phenom to Saquon Barkley, Randy Moss