Junior lineman lands first two offers

At a camp loaded with quality offensive lineman, the MVP at the SoCal NIKE Camp back in April was junior Tyron Smith. To no ones surprise, the Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde standout has already received a couple of written scholarship offers with several more on the way.

Smith, 6-4, 260 pounds was arguably the best junior lineman we saw on the NIKE tour this year. He worked out with the offensive linemen although his coach, and we would agree, feel his frame and overall athleticism is better suited for the defensive side of the ball in college.

"I had him work out with the offensive linemen because that is where he has more experience playing," RV caoch Pete Duffy said. "He has long arms, great feet and is mean so I knew he would do well there. This year, he's playing on both sides of the ball for us and doing a great job. He's just a big time kid and is going to be a great football player. Off the field, he's soft spoken and the nicest guy in the world but on the field, he's an animal."

On the recruiting front, Smith has been receiving letters from just about every school in the country since the summer and picked up two offers last week.

"I haven't even gone though all my mail yet but Arizona and Colorado have both sent written offers," Duffy said. "When schools came by in the Spring, basically everyone of them told me as soon as they could, they were going to offer Tyron. I haven't even sent out tape yet but he'll have 50 offers by next year, he's that kind of prospect."

As for favorites, Smith told us at the NIKE Camp that USC is his childhood favorite and he's also interested in Florida, Washington, Stanford, Texas and Arizona. Of course it's early so look for Smith's favorite list to change dramatically over the next couple of years.