Smith's Coach Talks to Scout.com

Scout.com had the opportunity to talk with Pen Cader Charter School head coach Rahsaan Matthews on Tuesday afternoon about his running back Jerome Smith who recently committed to the Syracuse Orange.

Jerome Smith, a 5-foot-11, 210 pound running back from Pen Cader Charter School in Newark, Del., committed to Syracuse this week and we had the chance to talk to his head coach about the type of player the Syracuse staff is getting.

“Jerome had offers from Wisconsin and Syracuse and was being recruiting pretty heavily by Temple and Boston College,” Coach Matthews said. “Our school has only been in existence for three years now and we’ve only had one full year of varsity football, so not many people know about us, but I think they will now.”

“Jerome is a versatile running back. I think he can do pretty much anything asked of him. He’s not a burner, but runs a legit 4.5 40-yard dash and he makes quick decisions and plays with power. One thing he is excellent at is that every time we need a yard or two yards we know we can go to Jerome because he’s going to fall forward and get it. He squats over 600 pounds and power cleans 265 pounds, so with that hard work in the weight room I think it gives him the confidence that no one is going to be stopping him.”

“I talked to Coach (Stan) Drayton and he told me a few of the guys they’ve brought up as running backs will be switching positions. The goal is to have one 20-25 carry back and another guy that comes in with speed that can be a change of pace and move out into the slot. From what I understand, Jerome is going to be that 20-25 carry guy for them.”