With about a month and a half until his Dec. 6 decision date, the top-ranked player in the ESPN 300, Trey Smith, is starting to zero in on his top school.
Smith has a top six of Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Ohio State and had a chance to see two of his top schools in action last weekend.
The 6-foot-6, 299-pound tackle was on hand to witness Tennessee lose to Alabama 49-10 in Knoxville.
“It was a tough moment, to lose in that fashion,” Smith said of his visit to Tennessee.
“Alabama is something impressive. I think they are in championship form like in the past. The defense is pretty ridiculous with Tim Williams and [Ryan] Anderson off the edges, great linebackers and corners. They are in ridiculous form right now and Jalen Hurts, he’s outstanding.”
While Alabama appeared to dominate the line of scrimmage, Smith viewed Tennessee’s performance as a potential opportunity.
“They are just telling me that there is a definite need along the offensive line,” he said. “I look at every college about the same, just wherever I go I know I’ll have to compete. I don’t want to say they are thin at tackle but they have struggled at times this year. Obviously, they are trying their best at the University of Tennessee. They will get it turned around eventually.”
The Under Armour All-American will now visit Alabama this weekend for its big game against another top 10 team, Texas A&M.
“I’m looking forward to watching Cam Robinson and Jonah Williams, just watching that matchup against Myles Garrett and every other great defensive lineman that A&M has,” Smith said. “Should be a fun game to watch.”
Another of Smith’s favorite schools, Notre Dame, has gotten off to a shaky 2-5 start to this season. The five-star prospect says he tries not to let a team’s win/loss record influence his recruitment.
“Every program has a down year,” Smith said. “Everybody slips up every once in a while. It doesn’t really influence my decision much at all.”
In addition to his Alabama visit this weekend, Smith has upcoming visits planned to Notre Dame on Nov. 19 and Ohio State on Nov. 26. The five-star prospect’s primary focus is to now focus on narrowing down his choices.
“Right now, my primary process is eliminating one more school just because I’m limited to five official visits,” he said. “That’s the reason I want it to be just a top five. We haven’t determined the top five yet though.”
When asked if Smith is leaning to a particular school in his own mind, the No. 1-ranked player in the ESPN 300 didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Yes sir, I have,” he said. “The most important part is just taking more visits and getting more familiar with the campus and staff. To me, the main factor is life after football. There are lots of opportunities that come after playing the sport. I want to see what the school can do for me and the opportunities it can provide.”