Smith locks up visit schedule
John Smith had four official visits planned. Now he has his fifth.
The four-star prospect who can play safety or wide receiver said this past weekend at the Battle at the Beach 7on7 tournament that Ole Miss will absolutely get one of his trips although no date has been finalized yet.
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"Ole Miss is locked in but I don't know when," Smith said. "That's still a question mark.
"I love the coaches. Ole Miss has great tradition. It's a family place. I talked to Donte (Moncrief) the wide receiver and he's a great guy. He says Ole Miss is a great place. Talking to a player on his level is really great."
Ole Miss rounds out Smith's visit schedule. The Long Beach (Calif.) Poly standout will also attend LSU-Alabama, Wisconsin-Ohio State, USC-Notre Dame and Ohio State-Michigan this fall.
There is serious interest in all the schools he's visiting. Getting on campus and being around the coaching staff and players will give Smith a much better feel for which programs stand out most and which ones might not be seriously considered any longer.
"I have serious interest in all those schools," Smith said. "When I go in for my official visit, if I don't like it, I don't like it and if I like it, I like it and I'll have that in my mind. If I don't like it they'll be out of the top 10."
The local schools - USC and UCLA - are also under serious consideration along with some others but Smith doesn't want to take official trips there. He's been there so many times and can go whenever so he wants to take his officials to destinations further away.
"I go to USC and UCLA games all the time," Smith said. "That's basically an unofficial and then with these far schools it's kind of hard so it's easier to take an official visit out there."
As far as position, this could get interesting. Some schools like Michigan, Cal, Arizona and others have promised Smith a chance to play wide receiver and safety. Some say one position over the other.
The Long Beach Poly standout shines on both sides of the ball so what coaches say about his future position could play a factor as he looks at frontrunners. At The Opening, Smith played more wide receiver and shined there.
"All the other cats were playing safety," Smith said. "Going to The Opening and playing wide receiver, I wanted to show I can play both ways. Wherever I go I hope I have a chance. I'm pretty sure all the coaches are going to give me a chance."