"I went to their football camp earlier
this summer, and I guess they could see it in my eyes that I was not feeling it,"
added Bernard Smith. "I have not heard from them since their camp. They have
not text me, wrote me, nothing. I have not tried to make any contact with them
either."
What happened?
"I do not know. There were a lot
of things going on. First, they are the only school that was recruiting me for
linebacker, and I want to play on the line. I was only 205 this Spring, but I
have put on 20 good pounds. I am staying on the line, hopefully defensive end.
My goal is to stay down. I just committed too early, to be honest. They were the
first school that I visited, and they just kind of blew me away with their nice
facilities and stadium. A lot of schools were not recruiting me because of my
grades, but I just made a score high enough on my ACT test where I do not need
to pull up my GPA anymore. I just want to see what happens during my senior year
and make a signing day decision. Ole Miss is a great school, and I am sure Coach
Orgeron is going to build them into a championship team, but I want to weigh my
options and I think Ole Miss needs linebackers more than they do defensive ends,
so we both kind of just went our own way."
Did Smith get a chance
to visit anymore schools this summer?
"I was suppose to go to Auburn's
camp, but I never made it. A couple more schools have started showing me some
interest like Clemson and Miami."
Any new scholarship offers?
"No,
to tell you the truth, when I see it is an out of town phone number, I just do
not answer my phone."
Does Smith call any coaches on his own?
"I
do not call anybody. I am just waiting for this season. When signing day comes,
I want to have a bunch of papers in front of me so I can have a lot of options.
I will let the coaches know about my decision, and that will be it. I guess some
attention came to me when I was talking to Auburn. Once that got out, the other
colleges quit calling, so I am going to put my poker face on so everybody will
stay in contact."
Which colleges are staying in contact through mail?
"Auburn,
Miami, Clemson, Louisville, MTSU, and Illinois. I am trying to stay focused on
having a breakout season so they will say, dang, we got to find a way to get this
kid. I am trying to stay humble."
How are the preseason practices
going?
"Great, these two a days were kind of hectic with it being
100 degrees, but we have a team that can go all the way this year. Everybody has
athletes, but you need to be a team to win. Last year we were individuals, but
this year we are going to play as a team."
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