Given that the last wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy was Alabama's DeVonta Smith in 2020, a prediction that Ohio State wide receiverJeremiah Smith will win the award in 2026 is pretty bold. But Ohio State and Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter went further than that. After telling the "Rich Eisen Show" he expects Smith to be named College Football's best player next season, Carter went on to say that he also believes Smith is eventually bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "I expect [Smith] to be the third gold jacket that I've ever been associated with and have had a role in their life," Carter told Eisen. As for the other two? Carter noted that he has been associated with Hall of Fame wide receivers Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald.
"Heisman Trophy. ... I expect him to be the third gold jacket that I've been associated with and have had a role in their life." Cris Carter describes how good Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith is on the @RichEisenShow 🙌 pic.twitter.com/RjaZDCqI08 — ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 10, 2026 "That is his genetic ceiling. He's a combination of Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones, and the disposition like Larry [Fitzgerald]. Like, he's a problem. Only one more time for Michigan, but he is going to be a problem in the National Football League," Carter said. The receivers Carter mentioned are among the best to ever play in the NFL. Fitzgerald was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year. He made 11 Pro Bowls and has the second-most receiving yards and receptions in the NFL all-time. Moss, also a six-time Pro Bowler, was a First Team All-Pro player four times and finished his pro career with the second-most touchdowns and fourth-most receiving yards all time. (Jerry Rice holds the all-time NFL records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.)
In his first year, Smith broke Carter's four-decades-old records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in a season as a true freshman, registering 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. Carter said he's working with Smith on improving his yards-after-catch ability, an area Smith made a priority this offseason. Eisen is not the first to hear Carter's bold prediction regarding Smith. According to Carter, he previously shared his expectations with Smith himself and his position coach Cortez Hankton.
Smith is 341 receiving yards, 43 catches and nine touchdowns away from breaking three of Ohio State's all-time receiving records. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cris Carter thinks Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith is 'gold jacket' bound