Jared Smith is less than a month away from enrolling on campus at Auburn.
Smith committed to the Tigers before his senior season at Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson High. His recruitment didn’t stop until the final days before National Signing Day.
Rivals’ No. 30 overall recruit in the country made multiple visits back to South Carolina and Ole Miss before dotting on the line with Auburn earlier this month.
Smith didn’t sweat over his final decision too much before making it official.
“Man, I don’t think it was really close,” he told Rivals from the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game on South Alabama’s campus. “I knew where home was.”
Smith, the No. 3-ranked DE in the Rivals250, enrolls on January 8 and will begin courses at Auburn on Jan. 13.
The elite edge defender will also partake in spring practice as he works toward playing time as a freshman in the Plains.
“We can create big change there,” Smith said. “These guys … these guys right here … this is the reason we have the No. (8) class in America.”
“All of us,” he continued, pointing to fellow in-state blue-chip signees like Malik Autry, Jourdin Crawford, and Antonio Coleman. “All of us can play as freshmen and contribute to the team as freshmen. We can be freshmen All-American. We can create big change there. These guys are beasts. The whole line is beasts.”
Smith credits those same defensive linemen as the biggest reason why sticking with Auburn despite pushes from other schools across the SEC.
“All these guys signed with Auburn. It’s crazy to finally compete with them,” said Smith. “It came down to who I saw myself playing with, who I can create and wreak havoc with, and it was these guys.”
