Area's No.2 sernior sold on Huskers
Smith one of few top prospects who’s putting off signing until Wednesday.
Two coaching changes and two commitments have marked C.J. Smith’s recruitment.
The three-star prospect, who is No. 2 on the Post’s Big Board, intends to bring that stage of his football career to an end Wednesday when he signs with Nebraska after earlier considering Florida.
“I love Nebraska because (of ) the opportunity I have to become great there,” Smith said in a Twitter message.
The 2017 Super 11 pick is one of the few top players on the Big Board who did not sign early. Despite committing to the Cornhuskers on Dec. 10 — 10 days before the inaugural early signing period began — Smith chose to wait. “My family would be more available to come and see me sign on the seventh,” he said of Wednesday’s national signing day.
Smith transferred from Oxbridge Academy, where he split time between wide receiver and defensive back, to Palm Beach Lakes after the fall semester, and he plans to sign on the Rams’ campus.
Of the top 10 seniors on the Big Board, only Smith and Atlantic’s Corey Gammage, who’s ranked third, didn’t sign in December. Gammage later renounced his commitment to Florida, explaining his decision not to sign. But Smith has stuck with Nebraska, making him the only consistently committed but unsigned player in the top 10.
Smith’s recruiting stock has risen and fallen over the past two years. After a breakout sophomore season, when Smith had 22 tackles and six interceptions, Scout ranked him the No. 61 player in his class.
Now, a day before he signs, 247Sports ( which merged with Scout) ranks Smith as the No. 704 player in his class and the No. 59 safety. The site’s composite ranking, which takes other media recruiting services into account, has Smith at No. 377.
Smith was a second- team All- Area pick as a receiver in 2016when he racked up405 yards and seven touchdowns on 20 catches. At safety, he had 11 tackles and one interception.
In seven games as a senior, when injury limited him, he had eight catches for 142 yards and three scores. On defense, he had 16 tackles and no interceptions.
Smith’s recruitment rivaled his changing roles on the fifield. He committed to the Gators on March 28, only to decommit on July 5. Smith said Florida stayed in his mind, especially after the Gators hired coach Dan Mullen to replace Jim Mc Elwain.
But another candidate for the Florida job, Scott Frost, left Central Florida to take the head coaching job at Nebraska, and that drew Smith’s attention. He took a visit to Lincoln, and was quickly convinced. Smith committed on Dec. 10, becoming Frost’s first commit at Nebraska.
“He’s a great guy with great intelligence for the game,” Smith said. “Me and Coach Frost have a great bond, and it was a great feeling to be in that position,” he added.
Smith is one of five players going from Florida to Nebraska in Frost’s first recruiting class, and Smith hopes to help put the Cornhuskers back on the map.
He said he’s looking forward to “starting to make history and putting Nebraska’s name more out there.”