Talented CB has three favorites

Cornerback Abdul Smith has received offers from 23 schools and he recently took two trips to Rutgers within the span of a week. The 6-foot, 182-pound defensive back from Pennsburg (Penn.) Perkiomen School would like to trim things down to five finalists in the next couple of weeks and he already knows of three that will make the cut.

With offers from programs in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and SEC, Smith's stock has never been higher. He was impressed by what he saw at Rutgers, a school that has been on a recruiting roll in recent weeks.

"I went for a camp (at Rutgers) on Monday and then I went back for a visit on Friday," Smith explained. "On Monday I got to practice and compete against some of the top prospects from all over the east coast. I got to play against the receivers and do some one-on-one's.

"On Friday I basically just toured the campus and talked to people that work there. I talked to some of the academic people and the guy in charge of the strength and conditioning program.

"I don't have any other camps or anything coming up. As far as visits go I'm not really sure. I might go down to North Carolina and hit Maryland and Virginia on the way down, but I'm not sure."

Smith said within the next couple of weeks he plans to trim his list down to five schools. Once he has done that all that will be left is scheduling official visits and making a decision.

He already knows of three schools that will make that final five.

"Maryland, Pittsburgh and Rutgers," he said. "They'll definitely be in there."

As a junior Smith accounted for 1,630 yards of offense with 18 touchdowns. Defensively he recorded 60 tackles with four interceptions, and he also displayed his abilities as a return man, taking four kickoffs for touchdowns.