ILB CJ Smith getting comfortable in year one with Maryland football: "just because we’re freshmen, that means nothing"

Ahmed Ghafir
Oct 3
3 min read

The success of Maryland football’s freshmen class has become a growing national headline with QB Malik Washington, OLB Zahir Mathis and OLB Sidney Stewart all sitting near or at the top in several statistical categories at their position. Stewart and Mathis have added to a deep front seven for defensive coordinator Ted Monachino, a unit anchored by third-year LB Daniel Wingate on both the 2025 Bednarik and Butkus Award Watch List.

But don’t overlook freshman LB CJ Smith, a mainstay in Maryland’s inside linebacker rotation.

A former three-star who closed out his high school career at Maury (VA) after being named an All-Metro selection by the Baltimore Sun his junior year, Smith became Maryland’s fourth commitment in the 2025 cycle and stuck true to his pledge despite interest from Miami (FL), Penn State and Syracuse through his senior season. The hard-nosed, instinctive linebacker kept his eyes set on “taking the right steps” in College Park to become a dependable Big Ten linebacker in year one.

“Just being able to come here and put in the hard work that I needed to do to get in position to where I’m at right now,” Smith said.

Smith was one of 11 freshmen to enroll at Maryland in January where the extra reps through spring ball laid the foundation for the fall.

“Spring ball, it definitely showed me it’s a different type of football so I had to do a lot of adjusting, becoming a smarter football player, taking the right steps in the weight room.”

Having a veteran like Wingate to lean on helped Smith acclimate to Big Ten play.

“He was a huge help just showing me that anybody can do it. Watching him play and just taking steps from him means a lot, to have somebody to look up to show you the right way to go about things in college.”

The Virginia native translated that success into a rotational role, playing in all four games while leading the defense with six total tackles including his first career sack vs. Towson. Smith has embraced DC Ted Monachino’s “fast and physical” brand of defense after “coming in there with confidence.”

“Not being scared, being fearless and playing the game the right way,” Smith added. “Just doing the right stuff in practice, running to the ball, trying to get the ball out and reads. All that means to play fast so we definitely have a lot of passion.”

After Smith and the team have enjoyed their first taste of success as they enter October one of remaining four unbeaten Big Ten teams, Maryland is now tasked with balancing confidence and focus with growing buzz around the program ahead of the rest of conference play.

“Playing in the Big Ten is hard and everyone is talented and anything can happen and just us being 4-0, it’s a great feeling but we’re reaching for higher goals just knowing we’re just trying to put Maryland on top. For us to put Maryland on top, we’ve got to keep winning.”

But being part of the early imprint the freshmen have left on the program isn’t forgotten.

“We all talk about what we can do for this program. We’re headed on the right track. I feel like all the freshmen are stepping into the role and doing what we’re supposed to do so we just taking pride in that,” he said. “I feel like we all came in with the mindset that we’re trying to play when the opportunity comes, we’ll be ready and I think that’s what we’ve been doing. Just coming in with the mindset that just because we’re freshmen, that means nothing.”

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