Tag: Jacob Smith

Michigan football loses two 2024 commitments at once to middling SEC school

Double bummer.

This one has been a long time coming, and it’s finally done.

Michigan football got two prized commitments over the summer from 2024 Cheshire (Conn.) Academy four-star defensive linemen Jerod and Jacob Smith, twin brothers who chose the Wolverines over what seemed to be Nebraska. But as the months went by and the brothers returned to their native Kentucky to finish their high school careers, it appeared that the Wildcats were making a strong push for the twins. Predictions across the networks started pouring in for the flip.

And then nothing happened. For weeks.

However, the duo made it official on Friday night, flipping their pledge to the maize and blue to Kentucky.

Now the Wolverines have a lack of edge rushers in the class. With Elias Rudolph flipping to Miami in August, the maize and blue still have four linemen pledged: Devon Baxter, Dominic Nichols, Owen Wafle, and Ted Hammond. But the class continues to bleed instead of adding, and considering Michigan wanted to really bulk up on the front lines, the news is not ideal.

Florida and Missouri among 5 schools to recruit 4-star prospects this week

Here’s a quick roundup of all the latest blue chip commitments around the country.

July continues to be a surprisingly busy month on the recruiting circuit, especially in regards to the class of 2024. So far this week, Oregon has added a pair of four-star linebackers from California, while Alabama picked up four-star cornerback Zavien Brown – catapulting into the top 15 teams in the national recruiting rankings.

Several other Power 5 programs have also managed to recruit four-star prospects from the class of 2024 over the last few days, as well. Here’s a quick roundup of all the latest college commitments from blue chip high school football players around the country.

F.W. Buccholz (Fla.) DL Kendall Jackson: Florida

Lindale (Texas) iOL Casey Poe: Alabama

Valley View (Ark.) LB Brian Huff: Missouri

Judson (Texas) S Myles Davis: Texas A&M

Cheshire Academy (Conn.) EDGE Jacob Smith: Michigan

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Twitter reaction: 4-star EDGE Jacob Smith commits to Michigan football

Huge get for #Michigan! #GoBlue

Michigan football now has the honor of having two twin brothers pledged to the 2024 class as four-star edge rusher Jacob Smith joined his brother Jerod by committing to the Wolverines on Thursday.

It was thought that Smith was going to delay his commitment after some late reporting on Wednesday, but he pulled the trigger precisely as previously expected, choosing the maize and blue over Nebraska.

A player with a big-time offer sheet that includes Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC among others, the No. 97 player in the country according to ESPN naturally elicited a strong reaction from some staff members, commits, and reporters.

Here are the best reactions we could find on Twitter.

Michigan football secures commitment from elite 2024 edge rusher

Got eem! #GoBlue

It took a week after his official visit to Ann Arbor, but a high-profile edge rusher is finally making his college decision. And even before the visit, it seemed as if it would be a foregone conclusion.

2024 Cheshire (Conn.) Academy four-star EDGE Jacob Smith is the twin brother of Jerod Smith, the defensive lineman who pledged to the Wolverines in April. Still, the edge rusher explored his options, having visited Nebraska after taking in Ann Arbor.

However, it seemed unfeasible that the twins would be split apart, and Jacob decided to join Jerod in Ann Arbor, pledging his commitment to Michigan football on Thursday.

Like his brother, Smith has a series of high-profile offers, despite being in a generally underrecruited and scouted region of the country. He had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, USC, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, and more.

Rated the No. 210 player in the 2024 class, regardless of position, according to the 247Sports Composite, Smith is also the 18th-best edge rusher and No. 3 player in the state of Connecticut. He’s listed at 6-foot-4.5 and 230 pounds.

He is the 26th commitment in the 2024 class, which is ranked No. 4 in the country per the 247Sports team rankings.

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Crystal ball prediction goes Michigan football’s way for coveted edge recruit

Things are looking really, really good!

Michigan is hosting five 2024 recruits for official visits this weekend and one, Jerod Smith, is already a commit.

Joining Smith in Ann Arbor this weekend is his brother, Jacob Smith. Jerod Smith is projected to be an interior defensive lineman at the next level, whereas Jacob Smith is an edge rusher. The possibility of the brothers playing together at college isn’t only a potential dream scenario, but also a very possible reality.

On Friday, Brian Dohn — a 247Sports national recruiting analyst — placed a crystal ball prediction for Jacob Smith to go to Michigan.

Going into the visit weekend, his recruitment was trending toward Michigan, but Kentucky appeared to be leading for Jacob Smith. There was already a single crystal ball placed by a Kentucky insider on 247Sports for Jacob Smith to go to the Wildcats. The prediction had a confidence level of ‘7’.

It definitely means something for Dohn to place a crystal ball with a confidence level of ‘6’ on Friday when the Smith brothers are in Ann Arbor.

Smith is the 210th-ranked recruit in the 2024 cycle according to 247Sports composite. He is the third-best prospect in the state of Connecticut.

Stay tuned for any breaking news that may come this weekend.

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Alabama lands in top-six for 2024 4-Star EDGE Jacob Smith

2024 edge rusher Jacob Smith listed Alabama as a finalist in his recruitment on Friday. He and his twin brother (Jerod) are being heavily recruited by the Tide.

Alabama has been picking up some steam on the recruiting trail in recent weeks. The Tide landed two commitments in the past week. A priority target also released his top schools recently with Alabama in the mix.

Edge rusher Jacob Smith added the Tide to his list of finalists on Friday evening. Smith has taken four unofficial visits to Tuscaloosa at this point in time. His twin brother, Jerod, has not released his top schools. However, it is very likely that the two stick together and choose the same school.

In October, Jacob spoke with On3’s Chad Simmons and had the following to say:

“I feel we’ll probably end up going to the same school, just because we have similar interests and the same goals.”

With both brothers being mutually interested in the Tide, it is a good sign. The Alabama coaching staff would love to add both of them to a recruiting class that already has one edge rusher in four-star Sterling Dixon.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down Jacob Smith’s recruiting profile.

Michigan football makes top group for 2024 4-star EDGE

Another player who played at the same high school as a former Wolverine. #GoBlue

Michigan football recently offered 2024 Cheshire (Conn.) Academy three-star linebacker Elijah Newby, and now the Wolverines have their eyes on another standout from the East Coast high school.

It’s been a long while since he suited up in maize and blue, former Wolverines wide receiver Tarik Black hailed from Cheshire Academy, but Michigan is hoping its second comes soon. And if it’s not Newby, there’s a four-star edge rusher at the same high school who just placed the maize and blue in his top six.

At 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, Jacob Smith doesn’t have that overpowering size you might see from a premier EDGE, but he does have an impressive offer sheet. And Michigan football made the cut for his top six, along with Notre Dame, Kentucky, Nebraska, Georgia, and Alabama.

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Currently, the four-star has one 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction indicating that Kentucky will be his school of choice. He’s ranked No. 208 overall according to the 247Sports Composite, the 18th-ranked EDGE, and the third-best player in the state of Connecticut.

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4-star DL Jerod Smith names top schools

Jerod Smith and his twin brother Jacob Smith have named their top 10 schools.

Class of 2024 defensive line recruit Jerod Smith has named his top 10 schools. Smith, a four-star prospect, visited Georgia in early June 2022 and received a scholarship offer from Kirby Smart.

It appears Smith and his twin brother, Jacob Smith, plan to play college football together. Jacob Smith is a four-star recruit and is an edge rusher. Jacob Smith is the top-ranked recruit in Connecticut and the No. 97 recruit in the country.

The duo appears to have the same top 10 schools: Georgia, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Alabama, Penn State, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Ole Miss and Michigan.

The Smith brothers and other defensive line recruits must be impressed with Georgia after the Bulldogs won back-to-back national championship and had a record-breaking 2022 NFL draft.

Jerod Smith and Jacob Smith play high school football at The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. Jerod Smith is the third-ranked Connecticut prospect in the class of 2024. The junior is the No. 220 overall recruit and the No. 23 defensive line prospect in his class.

The 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive lineman will continue to add to his frame throughout his high school career. Jerod Smith has already committed to playing in the 2024 Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Florida.

Jerod Smith has scholarship offers from elite college football programs Alabama, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and UNC among others. The four-star recorded 12 sacks as a sophomore and 10 sacks as a junior. Jerod Smith primarily plays defensive tackle.

Jerod Smith would be a 3-4 defensive end or 4-3 defensive tackle at the next level. Smith has some impressive film:

The Loomis Chaffee star announced the twins’ top schools via Twitter:

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Alabama listed as a top school to land twin brothers in 2024 recruiting class

Alabama has had one set of twins — Tommy & James Brockermeyer, play for the football program in team history. Now, Alabama has a chance to land a pair of twins that were high school teammates of Alabama OL Olaus Alinen.

Alabama’s football program has had one set of twins in years past. That happened in 2021 when the Tide signed Tommy and James Brockemeyer. Well, Alabama has put itself in a good spot to land a pair of twins in the 2024 recruiting cycle. The Loomis Chaffee School’s Jerod and Jacob Smith listed the Tide as a finalist in their recruitment on Wednesday.

Other programs that made the cut as finalists were Notre Dame, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, Penn State, Ole Miss, and Michigan. At this time, the frontrunner appears to be the Fighting Irish. According to On3’s RPM, Notre Dame holds a solid lead in each of their recruitments.

Alabama could be on the outside looking in. However, one thing to factor into the Tide’s pursuit of the twins is the fact that their former teammate Olaus Alinen recently signed with Alabama. In the past, he has made it known that he would like the Smith brothers to join him in Tuscaloosa.

It will be interesting to see how each of their recruitment unfolds. The presumption is that they will continue their college careers at the same school.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest Alabama football recruiting news.

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Recruiting expert ‘crystal balls’ 8 prospects to Notre Dame

Who will be the next to commit to Notre Dame?

There is no such thing as the off-season when it comes to college football.  Although games won’t be played until late August, plenty is still occurring.  The second signing period for the 2023 recruiting cycle opens in just a couple of weeks, the transfer portal seemingly never lets things sleep, and coaching changes can happen at any time.

Furthermore, recruiting for the 2024 class is all systems go.  Notre Dame started this past weekend by blitzing the locals in Indiana and Chicagoland before hosting a huge recruiting weekend on campus.  Now predictions for who the next Fighting Irish commitments might be are rolling in.

Tom Loy of Irish Illustrated and 247Sports is as respected of recruiting reporter/analyst as there is in Notre Dame football.  He made nine crystal ball predictions for 2024 recruits on Monday (Jan. 16, 2023), eight of which he pegged to Notre Dame.  Here is a little info on those eight Irish targets.