Recruiting on the South Plains | LB Will Smith

We've done DE Lee Adams, LB Will Smith is at the plate and WR Sadale Foster is on deck. To get everyone up to date, last week all three of these players from Riverside C.C. (California) committed to Texas Tech. By the time that this post is eventually posted, fellow teammate CB Bruce Jones may have also committed if given an offer.

Let's get to it.

The Measurables:

WILL SMITH
Position: DE
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1
Rivals 5.5
Scout
ESPN N/R
24/7 Sports 76
Ht: 6'3" | Wt: 220 lbs | Forty: N/A
JUCO: Riverside C.C. (Riverside, CA)

The Player Speaks: LAJ's Don Williams spoke with Smith, who said that he's a versatile player:

"I’m feel like I’m an athletic kind of linebacker (who can play) run-stop and pass coverage," he said. "I’m a do-it-all kind of linebacker. I don’t need to come off the field for any type of package."

And then this article that talks a bit about how Riverside C.C. has turned around their program:

His running mate on RCC's linebacking corps is Will Smith, a former Riverside Notre Dame player who also took an offer from Northwood and also decided after one season that it wasn't for him. Smith likewise has a less-than-classic linebacker physique, at 6-3 and 220, but his performance in RCC's spring ball prompted Nevada to give him a second look, and if he gets it done on the field other offers likely will follow.

"It was fine (at Northwood), but I just felt like I could play somewhere better," Smith said. "I didn't want to sell myself short. I felt like I could play at a higher level."

Offers and Rankings: As stated before, 24/7 Sports is the only site that ranks JUCO's and says that Smith is the 95th best JUCO player and the #33 JUCO in California. Interestingly, Smith's linebacker mate, Eddie Lackey, has committed to Baylor and is the #34 JUCO in California. So this is what's strange. Smith has 4 stars on scout, thinking that he's more highly rated than teammate Lee Adams, but Smith's offer list doesn't have the list of big schools. Smith's offer list consists of Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico St. and San Jose St.

More after the jump.

The Video: Film don't lie.

Will Smith #14 Notre Dame High School Riverside Ca jr year 2009 (via Diverwade)

UPDATE | I did find some video of Smith from his sophomore year at Riverside C.C. on Hudl. You have to go to the website to check it out, but this affirms what the film above displays, which is that Smith has matured and he can play some defense. He's lined up at outside linebacker and he's very effective and seems to have some pretty good instincts. I agree with Smith in that he is a three down player.

Scouting Report: So I'm going back quite a bit. This is from Smith's junior year in high school. So in high school, he plays outside linebacker and running back. He's a good athlete, looks fluid, especially in coverage which makes me think that Smith isn't lying when he says that he's a three-down linebacker. That would be absolutely incredible to have.

For the year, Smith was 2nd on the team in tackles for Riverside C.C. with 88 tackles, had 13.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 5 pass break-ups and 5 quarterback hurries. That's not bad and considering that Smith's other teammate, Zaire Anderson, is a 4-star linebacker going to Nebraska (although he did visit at Texas Tech) didn't have much more production than Smith. I'm still fairly sure that there is probably a reason why Anderson is more highly rated, but Smith was much more productive than Lackey, who's gong to Baylor.

Will, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2012 Class: No updated table, find the latest table here, sans the JUCO commits.