Smith Waiting on SAT Results

Ahkeem Smith is one of Pennsylvania’s better running backs, however the Bethlehem, Pa., native has not been extended a written scholarship to this point in his recruiting. We spoke with him recently to find up what the hold up was and found that his academic situation has really been holding him back this year.

Watching Ahkeem Smith play for Liberty High School you see great size at 6-foot, 190 pounds, more then adequate speed, power, hands, instinctual running and many more qualities that make him a very good ball carrier. Why then would this athlete not hold any offers approaching the end of the recruiting season? -- Grades. Smith explained his situation to us recently and talked about each school he has been talking to the most.

“I scored a 910 on my SAT and need to get a 1010, so I’m going to be taking the test again in late January,” Smith explained. “That means I won’t know what my score is until after national signing day, so I’ll be looking at schools up until then and will have to wait to commit until after everyone else does. I have been getting interest from a lot of schools, but Pittsburgh and Rutgers definitely stand out.”

“Coach Brian Angelichio from Pittsburgh came into the school a few weeks ago and knows my academic situation and is comfortable with it,” Smith said. “He said that they like me as a strong safety in their scheme and are just waiting to see my grades before offering. I like their defense a lot, Pitt is a good school and they are somewhat close to home. Pittsburgh is also a big-time program with great tradition and I like that about them.”

“A coach from Rutgers came into see me a week before Pittsburgh was in and told me that they liked me at running back,” Smith stated. “I am good friends with Andres Morales and he tells me great things about Rutgers all the time. I have liked everything I’ve heard so far and hope to learn more.”

Temple is also contacting Smith often about his services. As a senior, Smith rushed for 1010 yards and 23 touchdowns, spending the second half on the bench for most of Liberty’s contests. He also excelled at strong safety, making 77 tackles, intercepting four passes and returning two of them for touchdowns.