Tag: jerod 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.

Michigan now ranked No. 1 nationally after adding 2 more four-star recruits

Here are the two newest members of the Wolverines’ class of 2024.

A new team is on top of the rankings for the 2024 recruiting cycle. Last week the top spot fell from Georgia to Ohio State. However, yesterday another leader emerged when Michigan got commitments from two four-star prospects, including one of the best players in the state.

Here are the two newest additions to Michigan’s 2024 class.

Adams (Mich.) four-star TE Brady Prieskorn

The headliner here is the local Prieskorn (6-foot-6, 225 pounds), who ranks second overall in the state of Michigan, second among tight ends in his class and No. 56 nationally going by the composite rankings.

Prieskorn adds a potent receiving asset for the Wolverines offense. Last season he caught 19 passes, totaling 516 yards (27.2 yards per reception) and eight touchdowns. He also had offers from 24 other schools, including Michigan State, Penn State and Notre Dame.

Cheshire Academy (CT) four-star DL Jerod Smith

Smith (6-foot-3, 265 pounds) adds another piece to what’s become a factory for producing NFL-caliber defensive linemen at Michigan. According to the composite rankings, Smith is No. 30 at his position, fourth overall in Connecticut and No. 270 nationally in the class.

Twenty-seven programs made offers to Smith, including Notre Dame, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas and Wisconsin.

Michigan’s class of 2024 now has 14 hard commits, led by five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis. Prieskorn is the second-highest ranked recruit in a group that ranks first in the nation, five points ahead of Ohio State.

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This class is amazing!

Michigan football is on an absolute tear on the recruiting trail. The Wolverines landed two of their top targets on Tuesday.

The first domino to fall on Tuesday was when Michigan landed four-star tight end Brady Prieskorn. Then a few hours later, the maize and blue secured one of their top defensive line targets in four-star Jerod Smith.

On the 247Sports composite, Smith is the 30th-ranked defensive lineman in the 2024 class and the 270th-ranked player in the nation. He hails from Cheshire (Connecticut) Cheshire Academy and has good size at 6 feet, 3 inches and 265 pounds.

With the additions of Prieskorn and Smith, Michigan has the No. 1 ranked 2024 class according to 247Sports.

As usual, Twitter erupted when Michigan landed Smith and here are the best reactions we could find.

2024 4-star DT commits to Michigan football over SEC powerhouses

He picked #Michigan over Alabama, Georgia, and others! #GoBlue

Michigan football continues its hot recruiting streak now that spring ball is over.

The Wolverines have done more to add top-flight players in the 2024 recruiting cycle earlier in the cycle compared to previous years, when the maize and blue placed more priority on obtaining commitments during the months of June and July. From running back Jordan Marshall to five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis, Michigan is making a splash on the trail.

And it continued on Tuesday.

Hailing from a familiar high school in Cheshire (Connecticut) Academy, where former receiver Tarik Black played, 2024 defensive lineman Jerod Smith is rated a four-star by 247Sports at No. 230 overall. And he just committed to wear a winged helmet at the college level.

Not only is Michigan football chasing Jerod Smith, but it is also recruiting his twin brother, Jacob, who is also a four-star (edge) at Cheshire Academy.

The defensive tackle Smith picked Michigan over Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, Iowa, Ole Miss and Texas.

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Brian Dohn:

Has verified size and a thick frame with ability to play at 290 pounds. Agile with an impressive sub 4.5 shuttle and sub 5.0 in 40 during camp in May. Played with low pad level and low center of gravity during in-person evals and on tape. Productive player with 12 sacks and 29 tackles for loss as sophomore. Played everywhere from nose to five-technique in 3-4 defense. Uncoils and fires off quickly at snap. Covers ground quickly in first two steps and gets up field in hurry. Shows strength and power throughout frame. Anchors well at point of attack. Can stack and shed and also fight through double teams. Active hands makes it tough for blockers to stay engaged. Very good body control. Re-directs well along line of scrimmage. Instinctual and reacts quickly. Plays with energy and effort. Can chase plays down. Has to continue to add size, mass and strength to play interior defensive line in college. Has to continue to develop technique and not rely so heavily on athleticism and strength. Has to make sure he remains assignment-oriented. Earlier contributor at a top 20 program. Early to mid round NFL draft potential.

Smith is the 14th commitment for Michigan football in 2024 and is the third defensive lineman to pledge, along with Ohio-based DT Ted Hammond and German-born Manuel Beigel, who also plays high school football in Connecticut.

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2024 4-star Michigan football target sets commitment date

Get him, and another domino could likely fall as well. #GoBlue

Michigan football is really, really hoping it will get two commitments in one day. That day happens to be in less than 24 hours: Tuesday, April 25.

In-state prospect, 2024 Rochester Adams four-star tight end Brady Prieskorn plans to announce his decision on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. EDT. Around that time, another high-end target shared he plans to announce his decision.

2024 Cheshire (Connecticut) Academy four-star defensive tackle Jerod Smith is one of several prospects from Tarik Black’s former high school the Wolverines are interested in. And he announced on Twitter that he’s making his college decision the same day as Prieskorn, though the time was unspecified.

Per 247Sports’ Brian Dohn:

Has verified size and a thick frame with ability to play at 290 pounds. Agile with an impressive sub 4.5 shuttle and sub 5.0 in 40 during camp in May. Played with low pad level and low center of gravity during in-person evals and on tape. Productive player with 12 sacks and 29 tackles for loss as sophomore. Played everywhere from nose to five-technique in 3-4 defense. Uncoils and fires off quickly at snap. Covers ground quickly in first two steps and gets up field in hurry. Shows strength and power throughout frame. Anchors well at point of attack. Can stack and shed and also fight through double teams. Active hands makes it tough for blockers to stay engaged. Very good body control. Re-directs well along line of scrimmage. Instinctual and reacts quickly. Plays with energy and effort. Can chase plays down. Has to continue to add size, mass and strength to play interior defensive line in college. Has to continue to develop technique and not rely so heavily on athleticism and strength. Has to make sure he remains assignment-oriented. Earlier contributor at a top 20 program. Early to mid round NFL draft potential.

Jerod has a twin brother, Jacob, an edge rusher, in the same class who just put Michigan football in his top group as well.

There are five 247Sports crystal ball predictions for the interior playing brother. Four (all made within the past few days) indicate Michigan will be his school of choice. The sole Kentucky prediction was made in July 2021.

Smith released a top 10 in January of Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas. His brother’s top six is Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Georgia.

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Michigan football has Crystal Balls flooding in for four-star defensive lineman

Would be big!

Michigan football currently has 12 commits for the class of 2024 and according to 247Sports, the Wolverines hold the third-ranked class.

The Wolverines have been recruiting sensationally as of late reeling in two four-star offensive linemen during the month of April, plus the maize and blue got their No. 1 quarterback Jadyn Davis late in March.

It appears Michigan is trending for another four-star recruit.

On Friday, there were four Crystal Balls put in for Michigan to land four-star defensive lineman Jerod Smith. One of which belonged to 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst, Brian Dohn.

The Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy product is a four-star and the 270th-ranked prospect in the country according to 247Sports Composite rankings. He is the 30th-ranked defensive lineman and the fourth-ranked recruit in the state of Connecticut.

Smith has good size at 6-foot-3 and 265-pounds. With one year left in high school, he could have tremendous size for the college game by next year.

Here is the scouting report from Brian Dohn:

Has verified size and a thick frame with ability to play at 290 pounds. Agile with an impressive sub 4.5 shuttle and sub 5.0 in 40 during camp in May. Played with low pad level and low center of gravity during in-person evals and on tape. Productive player with 12 sacks and 29 tackles for loss as sophomore. Played everywhere from nose to five-technique in 3-4 defense. Uncoils and fires off quickly at snap. Covers ground quickly in first two steps and gets up field in hurry. Shows strength and power throughout frame. Anchors well at point of attack. Can stack and shed and also fight through double teams. Active hands makes it tough for blockers to stay engaged. Very good body control. Re-directs well along line of scrimmage. Instinctual and reacts quickly. Plays with energy and effort. Can chase plays down. Has to continue to add size, mass and strength to play interior defensive line in college. Has to continue to develop technique and not rely so heavily on athleticism and strength. Has to make sure he remains assignment-oriented. Earlier contributor at a top 20 program. Early to mid round NFL draft potential.

While it’s still early in the process, it appears Smith is primarily down to Michigan and Kentucky. But he has all the big offers you want to see. He also has offers from: Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and many more.

It’s worth noting his brother, four-star edge Jacob Smith, is currently predicted to land in Kentucky.

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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.

Alabama commit Olaus Alinen pushing for two of his HS teammates to join him at Alabama

Alabama OL commit Olaus Alinen is pushing for two of his high school teammates to join him in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama has already begun to recruit prospects for the 2024 recruiting class. In fact, the Crimson Tide already have three hard commits for the class thus far. However, one 2023 commit, Olaus Alinen, is pushing for more to join him in Tuscaloosa. Specifically, he tagged twin brothers and high school teammates Jerod Smith and Jacob Smith in a tweet.

Alinen attends Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. He committed to Alabama back in July. Now, he is pushing for the Smith twins to land in Alabama.

The Smith brothers received offers from Alabama back in January. They are both a part of the 2024 recruiting cycle. Altogether, the two have received 47 offers. That is relatively impressive considering they haven’t begun their junior season of high school.

Jerod is listed at 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, according to 247Sports. It is likely that he will put on some additional weight before playing at the college level. If that is the case, he would likely play along the interior of the defensive line.

On the other hand, Jacob has the ideal size to play as an edge rusher at the next level. He is listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. The Alabama coaching staff likes the two of them and will continue to follow both during their junior seasons at Loomis Chaffee School.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to track Alabama football recruiting news.

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