Smith gaining momentum
Sutton Smith left the campus of Northern Illinois without a scholarship offer. But that's not to say one didn't follow him out of town.
It's not as though the scholarship offer, which came via phone shortly following his campus visit, took Smith off guard. All the signs were there. The Saint Charles (Mo.) Francis Howell High School standout noticed the writing on the wall. It was essentially spelled out in 40-inch bold font.
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"I was surprised that I was the only one there on the visit," Smith typed in an email. "It was kind of like being on a personalized junior day just for me, which was awesome.
"The highlight of the day was meeting Head Coach Rod Carey. We sat down and talked for a good 30 minutes or so. He's really genuine and I know my parents felt the same way. They offered on the phone later in the week."
Northern Illinois represents Smith's first offer, but the goal is to ensure it won't be his last. Plenty of other programs are involved and have been for some time. Smith's on-filed results have ensured that. The interest coming in varied in intensity, but there's plenty of it to go around.
It takes him a while to rattle off all involved parties.
"In addition to NIU, the schools I'm hearing the most from include Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Kansas State, Tennessee, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Florida State, TCU and North Dakota State," Smith said.
Smith has attended junior days at Alabama and Missouri. He will attend a similar event at Illinois on Mar. 8.
I will be going to some one-day camps in late June and the first two weeks of July," Smith said. "Aside from Alabama and Mizzou, I haven't decided yet which ones to attend, but it will probably come down to the level of interest and how easy or hard it will be for me and my parents to get there.
Smith, who plays both running back and defensive back, is being recruited as athlete by most schools involved in the process. As a junior, he racked up 1,682 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns. He also made 25 tackles and recorded an interception.