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Last week, 2020 Lincoln (CA) WR Keyshawn Smith flipped from Washington State to Miami.
The 6-0, 170-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Smith is the #784 player nationally, the #118 WR in the country, and the #68 player in California. Smith's commitment moves Miami up to the #17 overall class in the team rankings on 247Sports and #14 overall on Rivals.
The Player
Smith has had an intriguing recruitment, as he was an under the radar prospect most of the cycle without any Power 5 attention until Washington State offered him in October of his senior year in 2019. Tennessee jumped on board as well soon after, but Smith ended up committing to the Cougars to play in Mike Leach’s pass-happy air raid system, and he signed with WSU early in December. Things changed a month later when Leach took the HC job at Mississippi State, and Smith requested his release from his LOI. Miami recognized the opportunity and seized the moment after watching his senior film, as the fast-rising receiver had actually grown up a Hurricanes fan. After a Manny Diaz in-home visit last week, Smith committed to UM sight unseen, and he was able to enroll in time to start spring classes.
Smith is exactly the type of player you love to take a late flier on as the #4 receiver in your class, as his senior film is dripping with upside. Looks to have elite straight-line speed while also having the lateral agility to make defenders miss, which gives him the ability to be a home run threat every time he touches the ball. A natural pass catcher that understands body positioning and how to adjust his frame in the air, making him dangerous on contested catches. Fluid change of direction skills, and demonstrates he can stop on a dime and explode upfield quickly. Not just a go route deep threat, putting on display that he can run a diverse route tree and can be used in multiple ways – the out, the post, the curl, the double move, jailbreak screen. Physical enough to beat jams at the line. Versatile athlete that took snaps out of the wildcat at Lincoln and also returned kicks and punts, showing the propensity to set up his blocks well and make frequent house calls.
A track star as a sprinter and long/high jumper as well, Smith was highly productive in high school, averaging 17.6 ypc on 46 grabs as a senior, going for 808 receiving yards and 8 TD’s. He added 188 rushing yards (11.8 ypc) with 3 TD’s, as well as a TD pass, kick return TD, and punt return TD. Quite frankly, it’s hard to believe how he wasn’t more pursued in a hotbed state like California, and UM looks to have lucked into a steal here.
The Class
Smith was the 21st overall commit in the class and he is the fourth receiver in the class along with IMG Academy (FL) 4-star WR Michael Redding, Hewitt-Trussville (AL) 3-star WR Dazalin Worsham, and Deerfield Beach (FL) 3-star Xavier Restrepo. With UM having only 1-2 spots left in the class and nobody scheduled to visit on the final weekend before signing day, they are done at the position in Category20, but adding a grad transfer to the roster like former Michigan WR Tarik Black or someone similar remains a slight possibility.
The Team
Miami lost KJ Osborn to graduation, and Jeff Thomas has left early for the NFL. That leaves Miami with only 5 returning scholarship receivers; 3 of those (Mike Harley, Dee Wiggins, Mark Pope) have seen heavy playing time this season, and the staff loves Jeremiah Payton’s potential for next year and beyond.
None of Miami returnees at receiver have proven at this point that they can be the surefire #1 option week in and week out. So, while there doesn’t seem to be a ton of room in the rotation available, it feels as if at least one receiver from the 2020 class will be needed to provide depth right away, and a true transcendent talent that shows they are ready to play immediately could always emerge in camp or later down the line and become a starter. Along with his fellow receiver classmates in Redding, Worsham, and Restrepo, Smith has enrolled early, giving himself as good a shot as anyone to see the field in 2020; it should also be noted he has the slightest build of the four, so he needs the college weight room/nutrition plan the most.
The 6-0, 170-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Smith is the #784 player nationally, the #118 WR in the country, and the #68 player in California. Smith's commitment moves Miami up to the #17 overall class in the team rankings on 247Sports and #14 overall on Rivals.
The Player
Smith has had an intriguing recruitment, as he was an under the radar prospect most of the cycle without any Power 5 attention until Washington State offered him in October of his senior year in 2019. Tennessee jumped on board as well soon after, but Smith ended up committing to the Cougars to play in Mike Leach’s pass-happy air raid system, and he signed with WSU early in December. Things changed a month later when Leach took the HC job at Mississippi State, and Smith requested his release from his LOI. Miami recognized the opportunity and seized the moment after watching his senior film, as the fast-rising receiver had actually grown up a Hurricanes fan. After a Manny Diaz in-home visit last week, Smith committed to UM sight unseen, and he was able to enroll in time to start spring classes.
Smith is exactly the type of player you love to take a late flier on as the #4 receiver in your class, as his senior film is dripping with upside. Looks to have elite straight-line speed while also having the lateral agility to make defenders miss, which gives him the ability to be a home run threat every time he touches the ball. A natural pass catcher that understands body positioning and how to adjust his frame in the air, making him dangerous on contested catches. Fluid change of direction skills, and demonstrates he can stop on a dime and explode upfield quickly. Not just a go route deep threat, putting on display that he can run a diverse route tree and can be used in multiple ways – the out, the post, the curl, the double move, jailbreak screen. Physical enough to beat jams at the line. Versatile athlete that took snaps out of the wildcat at Lincoln and also returned kicks and punts, showing the propensity to set up his blocks well and make frequent house calls.
A track star as a sprinter and long/high jumper as well, Smith was highly productive in high school, averaging 17.6 ypc on 46 grabs as a senior, going for 808 receiving yards and 8 TD’s. He added 188 rushing yards (11.8 ypc) with 3 TD’s, as well as a TD pass, kick return TD, and punt return TD. Quite frankly, it’s hard to believe how he wasn’t more pursued in a hotbed state like California, and UM looks to have lucked into a steal here.
The Class
Smith was the 21st overall commit in the class and he is the fourth receiver in the class along with IMG Academy (FL) 4-star WR Michael Redding, Hewitt-Trussville (AL) 3-star WR Dazalin Worsham, and Deerfield Beach (FL) 3-star Xavier Restrepo. With UM having only 1-2 spots left in the class and nobody scheduled to visit on the final weekend before signing day, they are done at the position in Category20, but adding a grad transfer to the roster like former Michigan WR Tarik Black or someone similar remains a slight possibility.
The Team
Miami lost KJ Osborn to graduation, and Jeff Thomas has left early for the NFL. That leaves Miami with only 5 returning scholarship receivers; 3 of those (Mike Harley, Dee Wiggins, Mark Pope) have seen heavy playing time this season, and the staff loves Jeremiah Payton’s potential for next year and beyond.
None of Miami returnees at receiver have proven at this point that they can be the surefire #1 option week in and week out. So, while there doesn’t seem to be a ton of room in the rotation available, it feels as if at least one receiver from the 2020 class will be needed to provide depth right away, and a true transcendent talent that shows they are ready to play immediately could always emerge in camp or later down the line and become a starter. Along with his fellow receiver classmates in Redding, Worsham, and Restrepo, Smith has enrolled early, giving himself as good a shot as anyone to see the field in 2020; it should also be noted he has the slightest build of the four, so he needs the college weight room/nutrition plan the most.
