'15 GA LB Austin Smith (UT Signee 2/4/15)

#1
Volunteer_Kirby

Volunteer_Kirby

Its not what you think...
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Austin Smith
Rivals
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Scout


"Buford (Ga.) Buford linebacker Austin Smith has been offered by Tennessee today during his junior day visit." - Kipp Adams
 
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#3
#3
"Tennessee offered Buford's Austin Smith today. Smith measured in at 6-3, 240 pounds. Good looking prospect."

- Fortenberry
 
#4
#4
Butch keeps lining them up...gotta be some great players trickling out of all these offers.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#5
#5
I met this young man coincidentally a few weeks ago. We talked about 30 minutes. Bright. Respectful. He is very impressive and believe he is the type of person who will represent us well on and off the field.
 
#6
#6
"When they offered me I was actually washing dishes but I dropped the plate and it broke, so if I had to go back I'd probably hold on to the plate and just start jumping up and down instead. I was very excited," Smith said. "I like their business management program. I like their facilities. They are brand new facilities and I like their strength and conditioning coach," Smith offered. "He got me pumped up. He lost his voice there but he was still pumped up and that was one thing I liked."

"I know most of the kids there that played in Georgia and that went to Tennessee, like Jason Croom for example. I had the opportunity to play on the same field as him and then some of their corners, too," Smith said. "Also, I never knew their field was that big. Seeing 102,000-plus watching you is awesome. And then, I didn't know their academics were that good. I like the new staff and how they stress their academics."

"That's something me and mom agreed on; go to a school that really has your academic support and can teach you to be a man," Smith explained. "That's one thing I like and they have a good chance of you starting as a freshman, not like an Alabama where you have to wait to start your junior year or your senior year. That's one thing I wanted to hear and was glad to hear, that I have a good chance to start as a freshman."
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-VQ

The weekend before he visited UF and really liked what he saw there as well. Smith says UF holds a slight lead over UT right now with LSU and UK after that. He plans to visit LSU soon and will visit UF and UT once again this spring sometime. He plans to make a decision in June.
 
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#8
#8
the three-star junior linebacker from buford (ga.) high school, who claims more than a dozen offers, said florida, tennessee, lsu and kentucky currently make up “my top four i’m really focusing on” heading into his trip to florida this weekend for the gators’ spring game.
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“lsu, they’re kind of third right now, after looking at their roster,” he said. “they kind of want me, but they don’t need me. It’s kind of hard to explain. It’s a great school. I love competition. Competition is great and brings out the best in everybody. But i’m just trying to start as a freshman and trying to make a name for myself.”
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“i feel like they have a good belief system, and i just like the way (tennessee head) coach (butch) jones is taking the program from the bottom to the top. ... And he doesn’t (just) care about if you go to the nfl or anything. He cares about what you do in life as a young man, and for you to have that in your life every day, you can’t get nothing better than that.”
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247
 
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#9
#9
“My mom, she thinks academics are really, really important and so do I,” Smith told InsideTennessee. “When I went down there March 5, the first thing she asked about was the academics. My mom said it really did impress her; it impressed her a lot. She said academically, Tennessee is a very good school for me. She said it’s not far away — it’s 4 hours away from home. She said they have six or seven specialists in each course. So, I was like, ‘hmm.’”


“Just the way (Jones) talks to you,” Smith said. “He really cares about you. He cares about his players. He sees them as his own kids. He really wants them to succeed in life —*not just in football but in life. And, that’s what I liked about it. That, and they’re switching from adidas to NIKE.

“I just love coach Jones. I like the way he presents himself, not just as a coach but as a man. As a young man, you need that in your life, especially on those days when you don’t have your family and all you have is football, a great role model like him will keep you in line.”

: “Right now it’s*Florida, Tennessee,LSU*and*Kentucky.”

-scout

Really likes Coach G as well. Trying to visit again in the summer
 
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#10
#10
Great quotes about butch. You have to be genuine to have people talk about you like that.. Nice to see so many recruits doing it
 
#23
#23
John and I just dropped by Buford High School here in Georgia and talked to Austin Smith, a top Vol linebacker target.

Florida leads right now with Tennessee right behind them. We will have an interview with him later on but just wanted to post an update.
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-Fortenberry
 
#24
#24
From Rivals:

Smith's mother has early favorites but is open to considering alternatives.

"(My mom) likes Tennessee a lot. She likes Florida a lot. We haven't been to South Carolina yet. We've been to Alabama, and she loves it. I told her to give Georgia a chance. She said she would. My dad said for me to do what I want to do but an hour away from home (at Georgia) is pretty good."

While the family may have favorites in mind, several programs are already beginning to set themselves apart, as they believe that Smith's athleticism will provide him the flexibility to play across the linebacking corps in a number of roles.

"Tennessee, Florida, and Kentucky are recruiting the hardest. Alabama, they come through a lot, but you know they have a lot of five-star recruits. I really want to start as a freshman, and the schools that have the opportunity for me to do that are Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Ohio State is in there, too," Smith said. "Florida said I could play Sam, Will, Mike, or Buck, but they just don't know how big I'm going to get. Coach (Will) Muschamp called and told me he wanted me to be a Gator, and that I could play any of those spots. He said my body was so lean for 235, so they don't know if I'll be like a Dante Fowler or a Daniel McMillian. That's what they're looking for: someone who can run like a safety and hit like Dante. He told me they'd never seen it before. He said if I come to Florida, I'll be in an NFL ready defense with him and Coach Durkin. Tennessee sees me as a Will. Kentucky sees me as a Will and as Sam, and Ohio State see me there also."
Smith said he's still growing.

"I was (just measured at) 6-foot-3 and three-quarters, and I weighed 230. I had just come back from track," Smith said. "The doctor says I have a lot of room left in my growth plate, so maybe two more inches. People mention tight end or defensive end, but I love linebacker. I want to stay at linebacker."

Smith plans to begin courting his potential suitors in the upcoming summer months, and his dance card is filling quickly."June 7th I'm going to Georgia. June 21st I'm going to Tennessee.
 
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#25
#25
"LSU, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee are my top five. June 14 I'm going to Tennessee. June 21 I'm going back up to Tennessee. June 25 I'm going to Georgia again. July 7 will be Florida, July 17 is South Carolina and July 27 or 28 will be LSU. I'll be deciding on August 1."

Smith added that other visits to each school could be sprinkled into his schedule but one thing is for certain. The 6-foot-3, 230 pounder knows what he is looking for in a school.

"Just the people and the environment," Smith said when asked what factors will help him make a decision. "Family is very important to me. At Buford we have this saying, 'Family: Forget about me, I love you' so that is really important to me. Family, that is pretty much it. Plus if I can play as a freshman and make an impact, that is important to me, too. Those two things."
 
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