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Three standouts for 2016 5-star DE

The recruitment of 2016 five-star Rahshaun Smith started early in his high school career and he has taken advantage of every opportunity to do research on all the schools that have offered. The Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances star, who is being recruited as a defensive end and a linebacker, says there are three schools making their way to the top of his list.
"There are no leaders and no favorites right now," said the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Smith. "Clemson, Oklahoma and Tennessee are standing out. Those of the schools that are standing out and recruiting me the hardest right now."
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Smith visited Clemson for the Syracuse game but it was not his first time experiencing what the Tigers had to offer.
"It was definitely great visit," he said. "I got to take my mom down. We got to see everything that I saw over the summer. It was good to see what Death Valley looked like for a night game.
"The coaches didn't really tell me anything new that I didn't hear over the summer," Smith said. "Coach Swinney was telling me that Clemson is a special place and that it's one of those places that you like more every time you come. He's a coach that encourages you to go out and visit more schools because then you can see how much different and special Clemson is. It's definitely different and definitely special.
"Coach Venables was telling me that, with what I can do on film and his coaching, I could be really special there," he said. "He can help me take my talents to the next level and improve my game a lot more."
Oklahoma and Tennessee have also hosted Smith at least once over the past few months.
"The facilities at Oklahoma, when I was there for my visit, were great," said Smith. "Getting down there for game was definitely great. Their style of defense and where the coaches were telling me I would play in their defense was an eye-opener for me. I'd play the jack position, where Eric Striker is.
"After Oregon I would say Tennessee has the best facilities in the country," he said. "When I was there it was a very small camp and there weren't a lot of people there so I got a lot of one-on-one attention from the coaches. I got to feel the love. They've been recruiting me hard ever since I went there for the camp over the summer.
"When coach Stripling found out I was there at the camp he came over to me and told me that he had my old name tag from my Cincinnati visit when I went up there a while ago," Smith said. "They were telling me they didn't forget about me and when they first got to Tennessee I was a main topic of one of their first discussions there. That was about three and a half years ago when I went to Cincinnati and saw them."
Smith, who has no other visits planned right now, mentioned that Kentucky and USC are also recruiting very hard.
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