Four-star safety Smith selects WVU
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West Virginia landed another major piece to the puzzle in its 2019 recruiting class when Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Inst. Charter School safety Tykee Smith committed to the Mountaineers Thursday.
Smith, 5-foot-11, 185-pounds, chose West Virginia over his fellow finalists Michigan State, North Carolina, Maryland, Baylor and Syracuse as well as long list of other offers.
The Rivals.com four-star prospect visited Morgantown once during the spring and again during the summer for the annual 7-on-7 passing tournament where he called the program as well as his experience on campus “amazing.”
“When I was up there on a visit it just felt like home,” Smith said. “I just like how they use their safeties and how they run their defense. I really liked how they manage to take care of everything and how they manage practice. It felt like home and I could see myself staying there."
One of the top targets on the board for the program, Smith was spotted talking with all of the coaches during the weekend and was able to get a full-picture look at the program.
Assistant Mark Scott served as the lead recruiter for Smith and the two connected early in the process. Overall, the Mountaineers were the second program to offer him as a sophomore. Recruited as a bandit or free safety, Smith has a skill set that will perfectly mesh with the West Virginia scheme.
READ MORE: SMITH DISCUSSES HIS DECISION IN-DEPTH
While not the biggest prospect, Smith more than makes up for that with his playmaking ability, his instincts to track the ball when it’s in the air and his physicality.
The track record that the West Virginia program has had with safeties in the past also helped in the decision making process.
“I like how they told me they’ll use me and just play me around the ball. They see me as a back type safety like Karl Joseph,” he said. “And they just like the way I play. I think it’s a great fit for my skill set.”
Smith becomes the third four-star prospect to commit to West Virginia in this cycle and the first of which set for the defensive backfield. He is the first true safety to select the football program this year.
Overall, Smith is the 14th commitment for the Mountaineers in the recruiting class.
Smith is the 23rd best safety prospect in the country in the 2019 cycle and is the fourth best player in the state of Pennsylvania. The impressive safety just narrowly missed the cut for the Rivals250, which as the name implies rates the top 250 players in the nation.
WVSports.com will have more with Smith in the immediate future.
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