Oklahoma DE leaning West

Recruiters will need to convince the parents of Tulsa (Okla.) Union standout defensive end Blake Smith before they gain his signature. While one school seems poised to add the three-star player to their commitment list, they will need to sell his mother on the decision first.

“I was talking to my mom about committing to UCLA during my visit there,” Smith said. “She said that she wants me to wait a few days after the visit before I make up my mind. She really wants me to take other visits, so I may take one to SMU in January.”

If you have not noticed yet, UCLA is out in front of the competition.

“Yeah, you could definitely say that UCLA is my leader,” Smith said. “It’s out in California, where they have great weather, and (Los Angeles) is a city with great opportunities. I haven’t committed yet, but I don’t see anything beating that.”

It sounds like Smith could give UCLA Tulsa born bookends if he decides to team up with recent Bruin commitment Chadd Evans of Booker T. Washington.

“My coach was just about to call Mr. Crabtree about him,” Smith said. “He wasn’t sure if Chadd committed. He seems like a nice guy, and I would mind if he and Jared (Naylor) were around.”

Despite his obvious affinity for UCLA, other schools are definitely pursuing Smith. In fact, Smith has recently received a number of calls and in home visits from coaches.

“I was supposed to visit Colorado State this weekend, but we’re playing in the state championship game, so I have to reschedule it,” Smith said. “A coach from there is supposed to come by tomorrow and talk to me about it.

“I might be going to Kansas State on the 20th (of December). Coach Peterson has been calling me a lot, and I went up to the Nebraska game in Manhattan. Coach Peterson came by practice last week and said that they wanted me to visit. He said that they don’t generally ask people to visit if they don’t have an offer. He told me that he was going to talk to coach Snyder, and get back to me in the next few days.”

New Mexico State and Tulsa are also recruiting Smith. As far as the two big in-state schools are concerned, Smith is a little confused.

“Well, Oklahoma has been out for a while now, but Oklahoma State is recruiting me really strangely,” he said. “They say that Jared and I are the top defensive linemen on their board along with Carl Pendleton. They sure don’t act like it.

“To be honest though, I want to get away from Oklahoma. Stillwater doesn’t provide the same opportunities that Los Angeles does.”

It could be a huge two weeks for Smith with the State Championship on the line this weekend against Broken Arrow, and then a visit to his favorite UCLA the next weekend.