Rutgers leads for South Jersey TE

West Deptford, N.J. tight end Zach Smith took in a junior day at Tennessee recently. What did the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder with 4.59-second speed think of his visit to Knoxville and who is leading for Smith's services?

"The visit was real nice, I got to meet the coaches and check out the school," he said. "Recently, I've been getting a lot of mail from them along with Penn State, Virginia and Rutgers.

"I'd say Rutgers is my favorite at the moment. I went up there about three weeks ago and I saw the whole complex and I met all the coaches who were great. I liked that all the players were getting along and the campus was pretty nice too. I could really see myself playing there and the facilities are excellent. Plus one bonus of them is that my former teammate Kordell Young just committed to them and I'm pretty close with him."

What is Smith looking for out of a college?

"I really want to go somewhere I can play pretty early. It would be great if I could play as a freshman, but I'm not going to base my decision on that," he said. "I also want to be around good coaches and good people. That's pretty much it."

Growing up, Smith has been a big fan of one of the NFL's best tight ends, Jeremy Shockey

"I try to play my game like he does by being very aggressive on the field," he said. "I also think I'm a pretty good blocker and a solid receiver."

As a junior, Smith hauled in 15 receptions for 300 yards and one touchdown as he was named all-conference and all-group II.