In an era where most top college football players chase better records, bigger brands or brighter lights, Carter Smith chose to stay at Indiana. Yes, that Indiana — the same program that has spent most of its football existence buried at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. The same Indiana that won a combined […]
In an era where most top college football players chase better records, bigger brands or brighter lights, Carter Smith chose to stay at Indiana.
Yes, that Indiana — the same program that has spent most of its football existence buried at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. The same Indiana that won a combined seven games in Smith’s first two seasons on campus. The same Indiana that parted ways with its head coach in late 2023 and seemed destined for another painful rebuild.
Smith didn’t have to stick around.
After entering the transfer portal just 24 hours after Tom Allen was fired, the offers rolled in from places with more prestige and recent success — Florida State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech. And yet, a couple weeks later, Smith shut it all down with one short message: “Here to stay. Let’s go!”
It was one of the first major wins of Curt Cignetti’s tenure before he ever coached a game in Bloomington.
“Fortunately, he came back into the fold, which was huge for us. I’m glad he did,” Cignetti said Monday. “He’s a really good football player, he’s a really good student, he’s a really good guy and he comes from a great family.”
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Smith’s return proved pivotal — not just for the offensive line, but for the entire foundation of Indiana football under Cignetti. A year later, the proof is undeniable.
After years of irrelevance, Indiana went 11–2 in 2024, flipping the script in dramatic fashion. And Smith, the steady presence at left tackle, was right in the middle of it all.
Now entering his redshirt junior season, Smith has started 25 career games and logged 1,627 snaps at one of the most demanding positions in football.
In 2024, he earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors while grading out as one of the most balanced tackles in the country — a 79.5 pass-blocking mark and 75.7 in the run game, per Pro Football Focus. He allowed just two sacks all season, and only six total quarterback hurries.
Across the entire Power Four landscape, just five returning offensive tackles posted grades over 75 in both pass and run blocking last year. Smith is one of them.
And while the metrics and accolades are starting to pile up, it’s the way he’s doing it — in Bloomington, against Big Ten competition, when he could’ve easily bailed — that makes his rise even more impressive.
“He’s got a lot of talent, he’s a great kid — high-character guy,” Cignetti said. “He’ll be a good leader on this team. I’m looking for him to have a big year for us.”
If preseason buzz is any indication, that big year may already be underway. Smith has been named a preseason second-team All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele, and his NFL stock is quietly trending up with scouts impressed by his consistency, toughness and intelligence.
But perhaps no one sees Smith’s greatness more clearly than the guy who lines up across from him every day in practice — All-American defensive end Mikail Kamara.
“Carter, in my opinion, will be the best tackle in college football [this season],” Kamara said Tuesday. “He’s a great player. He’s smart, he’s quick, he’s strong.”
Kamara, a projected early-round pick in 2026 NFL Draft projections, doesn’t hand out compliments like that lightly. But what he sees in Smith is rare: a technician with elite hands and footwork, who keeps defenders off balance with a wide arsenal of looks.
“He plays really well with his technique. He throws me a bunch of different sets and a bunch of different looks,” Kamara said. “He does a lot of good things that keeps me thinking and keeps me guessing.”
Their one-on-one battles are less like practice and more like high-level auditions for Sundays.
“When me and him battle, it’s like NFL [competition], it’s just like I’m in the league,” Kamara added. “Whenever I’m going up against him, I know I’m getting better and I know he’s getting better.”
ON3+: 4-star running back Elijah Kimble talks recent Indiana offer
Smith feels the same way. His practice battles with Kamara push him to be even more competitive, forcing him to bring his A-game every single day.
But it’s not just technique or competition that’s elevated Smith — it’s the atmosphere. For the first time in his college career, he says the energy around the building finally feels aligned with winning.
“Just the mood,” Smith said when asked what’s changed most under Cignetti. “There’s a lot of smiles around the facility now and that’s always good to see. Everyone’s having a good time, we all mesh well and it’s creating a great winning culture.”
Smith isn’t loud. He isn’t overly flashy. But he’s become a tone-setter. A cornerstone. And a reminder that even at a program like Indiana, loyalty and hard work can still lead to big things.
He didn’t take the easy route. He chose to stay. Now, his loyalty to the cream and crimson is paying off — because if you ask the guy he lines up against every day in practice, Smith might just be the best offensive tackle in college football.
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Category: General Sports
