Blue White Illustrated

J U N E 8 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 8 tion in the process of [visiting] these schools. Really, it's helped a lot being able to sit down, make a decision and basically go to the drawing board. BWIYou had all that to think about when making the decision. You saw Penn State early on and then throughout your re- cruitment. What was it that you kept going back to, that maybe other places were unable to match? SMITHReally it was just the connection between the coaching staff and our fam- ily. I mean, one of the visits we [brought at least eight] people who came with us from our family, and they all loved it. Everybody in my family loved the visit and vice versa. Every coach loved the family, so we had that con- nection right out of the gate. Then I loved the campus. Easy access to anything re- ally you'll need as far as food outside the actual football facility. As far as the dorm rooms and stuff like that, it was right around the corner from the football facilities. Not too far from your classrooms, so that's what I like as well: how everything is positioned. BWIYou never really came out with a top five or a top 10 before making a decision, but looking back, was there a school that came in second place? SMITHOutside of Penn State, it was re- ally just Ohio State and Texas A&M. Those were the other two out there that I was going towards. For those schools, you really just got the same type of connec- tion with their coaches like you do at Penn State. Everybody was connected and on the same beat, so to say. BWI You made the visit to Texas A&M, went home, took a little bit and then made a final decision. Can you take me through the time period aAer that visit up through when you made the decision? SMITH We really enjoyed the official visit. We went out there and we were re- ally just saying OK, we know that there is going to come a time where we've got to make this decision, so I can focus on my senior year coming ahead. That's how we started just wrapping up the whole process, and basically we each just wrote down some things about what we liked about each school and what each of us didn't like about each school and we went forward there. We looked at rosters, talked to people and just got as much in- formation to make sure we made the best decision possible. BWIYou're going to enroll early. Can you tell me about what went into that deci- sion, and what does your school require of you in order to do that? SMITHReally, it's just making sure you have all of your core classes taken care of, which I do. Going into next semester I only have two classes that I really need to complete. Then I'm good. I'm out. So that was really a big thing of not having to go the full year knowing that I didn't have to. Also going into college early, get- ting into the swing of the academics and how practice and everything goes and getting the experience of being a college athlete and student, that was a big thing. BWI What are the coaches telling you as far which linebacker spot you might play? Then if you can, describe your skill set for me and how that lends itself to the position you might play down the road. SMITHThey haven't told me a specific linebacker spot because [they want to see] how diverse I am as far as being on the field and doing multiple things, so I'm not limited at all as far as what position I could play because of how quick I am in making my decisions, being able to close distance and being able to travel sideline to sideline making plays. BWI Could you see yourself playing de- fensive end, or are you strictly a line- backer? SMITHStrictly linebacker. BWI This recruiting class is starting to fill up pretty quickly. Can you tell me about some of these relationships that you are building and just your thoughts on this class as a whole? SMITHWe're already planning. We have a big group text message and we're al- ready talking every day, making moves for when we come in. We want to be the best and we want to make a run in college football. I'm pretty sure judging by the amount of work we all put in every day, that's doable. BWI What can teammates, coaches and fans expect from you over the next three, four or five years? You have big goals on and off the field. Can you offer a short preview? SMITHThey can expect my full effort on the field, and the same off the field. They can expect full effort as far as me com- pleting my goal in the criminology major with a minor in forensics. Smith announced for the Lions last month during a cer- emony at Louisa County High. He had earned 25 scholar- ship offers before deciding to end his recruitment. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

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