Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/110553
TE Durham Smythe 6-5 ✦ 230 ✦ Belton H.S. ✦ Belton, Texas Notable: Born on Aug. 9, 1995 … Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds, bench presses 290 pounds and has a vertical leap of 30 inches … Plans on majoring in business science and is interested in getting into the medical field … His father, Roy, played offensive line on Baylor's 1980 Southwest Conference championship team. Rankings: Tabbed as a four-star recruit, the country's No. 6 tight end and the No. 170 overall player in the class of 2013 by Scout. com … Rated as a four-star prospect, the No. 25 player in Texas, the nation's No. 6 tight end and the No. 188 overall recruit in the land by 247Sports … Identified as a four-star prospect, the No. 57 player in Texas and the No. 6 tight end nationally by ESPNU … Given a threestar ranking and labeled as the No. 50 player in Texas and No. 15 tight end in the country by Rivals.com … Ranked as the No. 14 tight end nationally by Tom Lemming. Statistics: Caught 37 passes for 547 yards and six touchdowns for his 6-4 team as a senior … Made 22 receptions for 341 yards and three scores, plus three two-point conversions, in 2011 … Reeled in eight grabs for 120 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore … Played defensive end as a freshman prior to moving to the offensive side of the ball. Honors: One of two tight ends on the Waco Tribune-Herald Top 50 and listed No. 2 on the publication's list of top Central Texas prospects for 2012 … Selected as a first-team tight end on the Texas District 8-5A team as a junior and senior … Received all-state academic first-team honors in 2012 from the Texas High School Coaches Association. All-Star Games And Camps: Played in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Houston Dec. 30 … Attended summer camps at Baylor, Notre Dame, Texas and Texas A&M. Brian Kelly's Comments: "He's a tight end that we really believe fits the style of the offense that we run. He hasn't even tapped his potential. … He's going to be obviously a big, physical player for us, and he has soft hands and the ability to get out and run routes. … Durham Smythe will be another one of those tight ends that will really, really do well here." Belton Head Coach Rodney Southern's Comments: "The biggest thing about his game is that he has tremendous hands. … He has the type of body that college coaches are looking for now at that tight end position. He can do multiple things. He can put his hand on the ground and block, but he can also go in space and run routes. … Durham is a very smart football player. You can do a lot of different things with him." Tom Lemming Of Prep Football Report: "He's a solid player. He has good hands and he's athletic. He has the type of body that he could grow into an offensive lineman if he doesn't make it at tight end. He's a good, late addition for someone who wasn't recruited by Notre Dame all year. He can come in and have a great opportunity because one of the two freshman tight ends will be playing next year." Recruitment: Offers started to pour in after Baylor broke the seal in February 2012, with Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and others all following suit … Opted to take himself off the market early and offered a pledge to Texas in March 2012 … After gauging interest from other programs, including Notre Dame, he decided to decommit from Texas in mid-December and took an official visit to Stanford followed by a trip to South Bend Jan. 25 … Canceled a trip to Oregon in between and didn't make it to