Hialeah duo makes unlikely visit
Calvin Smith and Corey Lemonier out of Hialeah (Fla.) High School are two of the most heavily recruited prospects in the nation on the defensive line. With scholarship offers from around the country, Lemonier and Smith have countless programs that would love to get the two on campus for a visit.
With that being said, you may be surprised that the duo spent their weekend on the campus of New Mexico visiting head coach Mike Locksley's program.
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"It's going good up here," Smith said over the weekend. "I'm enjoying it. The city is nice. I like the campus. The campus is good, the coaches are nice. I liked the players when I met some of them. They're one of the schools I'm considering."
Smith didn't quite know what to expect about the trip but he has been pleasantly surprised by what he has seen.
"I really didn't know anything about them but when we came to visit, it's more than I expected," he said. "It's pretty nice up here."
While it would seem difficult for New Mexico to compete with the other BCS programs that are in the mix with Smith, the relationship with the coaching staff as well as the early playing time does appeal to the interior defender.
"The D-Line coach, I was with him the whole day," he said. "He said we have a guaranteed starting position. I like him, Coach Trotter."
Joining Smith on his visit to New Mexico is Lemonier, a Rivals100 prospect. The two have aligning interests and hope to continue to play together on the next level.
"We've been talking about that," Smith said of playing with Lemonier in college. "That's big. We're going to play together no matter what. We're going to take all of our visits together."
Lemonier has also enjoyed his time on the New Mexico campus. Already he has visited Florida, UCF and USF and hopes to hit up several more schools this summer.
"I'm really trying to go to Tennessee and Pittsburgh," Lemonier said. "Those two really want me to go there. I want to visit Florida State too and probably all the other Florida schools again."
Lemonier has an idea in his head what he will be paying attention to while on these numerous visits.
"I'm checking out the whole atmosphere," he said. "I want to see is it a nice place. Can you actually do something in the town? Are the coaches good people who really care about you?"
Both Lemonier and Smith claim to have no favorites at this point and have no time frame for a decision.
"If I go to a place and really like it or if the coaches seem like good people that I can trust then I may already know what my decision is and I could commit," Lemonier said.