The Florida Gators were one of eight teams named by four-star Calvary Day School (Savannah, Georgia) tight end [autotag]Michael Smith[/autotag] as one of the top-eight programs still standing in his recruitment.
Smith made the announcement on Halloween with an appropriate edit to match the holiday. Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina are the other seven teams he’s still considering. Smith followed up his announcement with a tweet that said his recruitment was “still 100% open,” but these are the schools he’s narrowed things down to right now.
On3’s Chad Simmons caught up with Smith following the announcement to discuss each of his top eight.
“Florida was one of my favorite schools growing up. When I got the offer, that hit home a little bit because it’s my dad’s favorite team, my favorite team.”
Where’s Home at ? @ChadSimmons_ @Cavalier_Sports @DeaveryS pic.twitter.com/Pxdy0ohGZP
— ★ Michael Smith ★ (@ayeemikee1_) October 31, 2022
Smith has been to Florida twice this year, once in April and again for the season opener against Utah. It’s the only school he’s visited twice so far, with Ohio State and South Carolina each getting a visit over the season as well. The On3 recruiting prediction machine favors the Gators with 37.7% odds to land Smith, but the Buckeyes (14.8%) and Gamecocks (17.3%) are not far behind.
The On3 composite ranks Smith No. 178 overall in the class of 2024 and No. 8 among tight ends. 247Sports has him a bit higher on its composite rankings at No. 152 overall and No. 6 at his position.
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