Three-point stance: FSU, LSU should be pleased; early read on Smith

ORLANDO — After two days at the Under Armour All-America Game, Florida State and LSU both look like they have bright futures, plus a controversial offensive lineman is off to a solid start.

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Florida State is on a roll in recruiting with commitments from two different five stars since Friday and some impressive-looking players here in Orlando. Defensive end Josh Kaindoh, who committed on Dec. 23, looked excellent in day one of practice. The five-star reminds me of a skinnier Myles Garrett, an outside, looping pass rusher who has a great first step, elite shoulder dip and is dominant when he mixes up his moves and uses his hands. He will be an instant impact guy is he can add some weight and lower body strength before next season. Picturing Kaindoh/Josh Sweat and Brian Burns on opposite ends of the line has to be exciting for FSU fans.

Even more exciting is the commitment of running back Cam Akers on Tuesday night. While Akers isn’t here in Orlando, fellow FSU running back commitment Khalan Laborn is and the two should make a great 1-2 punch down the line as each brings something different to the table. While Akers has speed and can make people miss, he’s much more physical as a runner and will do a ton of work between the tackles as a one-cut guy. Laborn, who was bottled up most of the first practice as the offensive line works on becoming a cohesive unit, can do more outside and in the passing game. I like both players, but Akers is one of my favorite players in this class when it comes to sheer talent and a will to win and take over games. Can I see Akers having a career similar to Dalvin Cook at FSU? Yes I can.

FSU also has Cyrus Fagan and Stanford Samuels on hand as well and both had up-and-down days. FSU is involved heavily with linebacker Levi Jones as well and can never be counted out to make a surprise run on someone down the stretch. Noles fans that were worried they didn’t have a five-star committed as of a week ago can now relish in the fact that their two highest-rated prospects look to be future studs.

One thought that came to mind early in practice today was how LSU could be stacked this recruiting year at some key positions. While Tyler Shelvin will need to drop some weight to become more effective and improve his stamina, he’s still a monster in the middle and I’m picturing him paired with fellow defensive tackle Marvin Wilson. Wilson, the No. 2 player in the country, favored LSU before the Les Miles debacle at the end of last season and was very excited about the hiring of Ed Orgeron. While Wilson has only named a top five and is far from a decision, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him end up at LSU and form a nasty defensive tackle duo with Shelvin.

Flipping sides of the ball, the interior offensive line has a nice 1-2 punch as well with Austin Deculus and Edward Ingram. Both players started off at tackle during practice but Ingram struggled and was moved inside while Deculus stayed outside. However, I include Deculus here because he will start his career at LSU as a guard. Both players are massive and nasty run blockers who need some work with their feet and balance in pass protection. One or both could eventually develop into a tackle before long. But either way, they have two nasty big men.

JaCoby Stevens is playing wide receiver, which shows off his versatility but he’s clearly going to be a nasty safety at the next level while Kary Vincent is smallish but has excellent coverage skills and is aggressive. And LSU was mentioned by a ton of uncommitted players as well. I’ve always said that recruiting will never be a problem at LSU no matter who the coach is and we all know Orgeron can recruit. Based on this small sample size and the buzz around the Tigers, talent likely won’t be an issue for Orgeron’s tenure.

One of the most controversial prospects this recruiting year is Tennessee offensive line commitment Trey Smith.

The reason? One recruiting site made him the No. 1 player in the country and the others, except for Rivals, followed suit by making him a high five-star. I’ve explained in this column our wait-and-see approach on Smith before but now that I have seen him in action in person I can expand a bit.

He’s a great-looking kid. He has zero bad weight, he is physically intimidating and he plays very aggressively. Everyone who knows me knows I like a mean streak in an offensive lineman and Smith has that. Despite the lack of competition he faces during the football season, he didn’t look out of place here on day one and more than held his own in one-on-ones. So all that’s great right? Right. But there are still some issues.

Smith appears to be closer to 6-foot-4 than the 6-foot-6 many have listed him at and he doesn’t have exceptionally long arms. He started off as a guard in practice and, compared to other offensive tackles in this class, he almost looks small (see Wilson, Isaiah or Leatherwood, Alex). So at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds or so, he’s likely to be an interior lineman at the next level with his highest upside being a right tackle, unless he’s the second coming of former Alabama star Andre Smith who was a shade under 6-foot-4 and became an All American and first round NFL draft pick as a tackle.

So the question is – are we seeing Andre Smith Part II and should have him ranked in the nation top 2 (Smith was No. 2 in 2006 behind Percy Harvin) or are we looking at a very good guard prospect who should be in the 25-100 range (he is currently No. 97 in the country)? Smith won all three of his one-on-one reps Wednesday with excellent technique and footwork, but it was against two very undersized players in Tyree Johnson and Kwity Paye. We will see what happens when he gets tested a bit more this week in practice and the game. And in team play, he was solid but did miss some assignments.

The bottom line, at least for someone like myself who has been doing this for a long, long time and has seen a ton of offensive lineman, is that I didn’t see Andre Smith today but there were many things that impressed me.