Malcolm Smith (6-2, 212, 4.5), Scout.com's No. 4 weakside linebacker from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif., remains noncommittal between California, Notre Dame and USC, where he visited this past weekend.
"I'm not leaning anywhere," Smith said. "They are all pretty much the same. The have a good balance of academics and football. I'm looking to pursue civil engineering and they're all good for that.
"My host this past weekend at SC was Jamere Holland, who I knew from Taft. He likes SC. He's redshirting this year because of a shoulder injury but will play next year. We stayed at the downtown Marriott," he said.
"There were a lot of other recruits there, like Marc Tyler, Marshall Jones, Aaron Corp, Michael Reardon, Joe McKnight and Anthony Gildon. Nobody committed that I know of. I didn't talk with any of them about what they were going to do.
"We did a lot of tours together and hanging out. Went to eat at a restaurant on the beach and at Universal Studios. I learned more about my academic opportunities.
"I basically talked with all the coaches, probably Steve Sarkisian (quarterbacks) the most. He's cool, but nothing really stands out about him.
"My only three are Cal, Notre Dame and USC. They all want me for outside linebacker. Coaches from Cal and USC will be at my house sometime this week, I think," Smith said. "But I don't know when. Notre Dame coaches will be at my school on Tuesday. Notre Dame's probably recruiting me the hardest. I talk with them on the phone the most.
"I'll announce sometime next week where I'm going. I don't know how it will come out. I don't have any plans. My parents don't have any preference either."
Smith reports a 3.0 core GPA/1600 SAT.