i was with coach pruitt, and the jets head coach (todd bowles) was sitting in another office, said smith, whos ranked by 247sports as the no. 341 overall prospect and no. 29 cornerback in the 2019 class. and (pruitt) had called me to his office, and he was talking to me and telling me how important i am, and how he was making the head coach of the jets hold off until he was done talking to me. So he was showing me how much of a priority i was.
they were making sure that i knew that i was a priority.
i was walking down the street, and people, the students were telling me its a great school fans and all that just telling me how good the program is and how friendly people are, said smith, who picked up an offer from tennessee on may 15 and now holds offers from at least 25 schools.
and then the coaches were explaining to me how great the fan base is. During game days, they have, like, a vol navy people in the water cheering them on and stuff.
most of the things he saw at tennessee came as a surprise, he said, and made him want to see the vols again in the coming months.
when you go into the athletic center, you go up one floor and its the turf field and then the weight room, smith said. they have this little smokeys on the third floor. Its, like, only athletes, so its an only-athletes cafeteria. And they have their little nutrition bar and stuff like that. Everythings close-knit. And their facilities are second to none.
coach fair was coaching me up on some stuff, showing me ways to play stuff like, basically helping me out for the future, smith said. i worked out by myself, and then my 7-on-7 coach brought some people up, so i worked out with them. (fair) said i looked great. They say longer (defensive backs) take more time to get out of their breaks. He said i was doing good getting in and out of my breaks and stuff like that, moving my hips well.
smith admitted south carolina "was my favorite team growing up, but hes trying not to dwell on that as he moves closer to making his college choice. i have to separate my childhood dreams, he said. "i have to think about not a four-year deal, but a 40-year deal.