OSU Walk-On Earns Inclusion In Annual College Football Ranking After Jeremiah Smith & Sonny Styles’ Support

Last year, Ohio State’s Sonny Styles and Jeremiah Smith made it to Bruce Feldman’s Freak List. While happy about their inclusion, the two players told a The Athletic journalist about a relatively unknown player on OSU’s roster who deserves a spot on the list. Their efforts have paid off, as Ohio State DB Brenten “Inky” Jones has found a place on the 2026 CFB Freak List.

Feldman released the list on August 10, and it features Jones at No. 29 for his ability to run quickly, as well as his broad and vertical jump. The OSU DB has earned this crown because of his documented offseason showcase. But Smith’s and Styles’ advocacy also played a huge role in making it happen.

“I’d never heard of him till last summer when both JJ & Sonny Styles really made the case of why he should be on there too,” wrote Feldman on X just minutes after releasing the Freak List.

Coming out of high school, Jones had scholarship offers from mid-tier and smaller programs. However, the three-spot athlete from Steubenville High School chose to play for his dream school, Ohio State, as an in-state walk-on.

Just a year after joining the Buckeyes, he was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy as a walk-on and also removed his black stripe. OSU’s 2024 national title-winning season brought the main reward for his hard work: a scholarship offer from Ryan Day.

Last season, an injury sidelined the redshirt junior DB, causing him to miss the Buckeyes’ opening game. Later, he was absent from regular-season games against Washington and Grambling State. However, his never-give-up mentality helped the OSU DB see action in 7 games, including a road game at Illinois, where the Buckeyes won by a score of 34-16.

The former basketball player also showed immense potential in the weight room, with a 385-pound bench press and a 500+ lb squat.

“He [Inky] runs like 23.5 and jumps 11 feet broad. Vert’s almost 40. He is a freak,” Styles said about Jones in 2025, as reported by The Athletic.

Jeremiah Smith is no longer the No. 1

Though Jeremiah Smith’s advocacy has helped Brenten Jones get a spot on Bruce Feldman’s 2026 Freak list, the junior WR has faced a setback. In last summer’s list, Smith was at No. 1. At that time, OSU senior LB Sonny Style earned the 10th rank. The DB believed his WR deserved the top spot.

“He’s [Jeremiah Smith] a little faster,” Styles told Feldman in 2025. “My last year was like 23.2. My most recent one was 22.8. He’s rolling. We’re super competitive with each other. We’ll do bike sprints against each other.”

That support showed a culture Ryan Day built in Columbus. It also influenced OSU DB’s rapid rise from an underdog to a national champion.

But this season, the top spot has been captured by South Carolina WR Nyck Harbor. Is Smith out of the top 10? No, the OSU WR has secured the No. 2 position in the 2026 CFB Freak list.

In his two seasons with the Buckeyes, Smith has racked up 2,558 yards. In 2026, he put on muscle and came up with a stronger version. Despite that, his board jump set a rare feat, and he ran 23.5 mph on GPS.

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