Pearland (TX) Dawson EDGE Eddy Smith always felt the love from the Texas Tech coaches. The Red Raiders were his first offer, which clearly made an impact in his decision. The Tech staff, led by C.J. Ah You, Joey McGuire and James Blanchard identified Smith early on and stayed consistent with the 6-foot-5, 250 pound pass rusher throughout the process.
A couple weeks after taking an official visit to Lubbock from June 9-11, that persistency combined with the feeling of family paid off with a commitment from Smith to the scarlet and black.
"It felt like home when I went to Lubbock. When I met with the players and stuff, like Bryce Ramirez, Isaac Smith, all of them, I was around them and it felt like home. The coaches up there bonding with me, they were one of the first schools to offer me. They were actually the first school to offer me that was public.
I like the way they treat my family. When they call and they check up on me they also check up on them. They just make everything feel like a family."
On his visit Smith specifically got to continue building relationships with his future position coach, C.J. Ah You and head coach, Joey McGuire.
"Coach Ah You, he always comes to my school and stuff. He went to my rivalry game, so I've seen him quite a few. But being able to be with him for the weekend, those three days, it was good. It was more bonding with him, I got to meet his family. It was great.
Being around coach McGuire, it was great. That was an experience I'll never forget. He's one of those guys you can always talk to about anything and I really like that about him. He reminds me of my head coach back here at Dawson."
Smith initially planned on waiting before committing. He has other official visits planned to schools such as Oklahoma State, TCU and Oregon. However, the weekend in Lubbock went so well he decided to shut down his recruitment on the spot.
"Really I was gonna wait, but I told coach (James) Lockhart, the other outside linebackers coach and he was like 'c'mon, just go tell them, go tell them, you can make it verbal and then you can announce it later on'. I was like okay, and I went in there, I told them, and then everybody in the room jumped up and started cheering. Coach McGuire hugged me, coach Ah You and coach Lockhart both hugged me. Coach Blanchard picked me up. It was just a lot of energy in the room."
Smith says he's done with his recruitment process now that he's a Red Raider. He expects other schools to continue recruiting him, but his mind is made up.
"Yeah, I'm gonna stop it right there. I still know that schools are gonna try to come at me until I officially leave, but yeah I think I'm 100% locked."
As for what he brings to the table, Smith's message to Texas Tech is simple: get your popcorn ready.
"It's gonna be a show, that's all I'm gonna say."
