SI All-American Candidate Jaquez Smith Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Jaquez Smith
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 6-foot, 190 pounds
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake
Schools of Interest: Tennessee, Alabama, Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia, and Colorado
Projected Position: Wide Receiver
Frame: Thick neck. Average frame with solid length in arms. Tight torso with sprinter’s lower half.
Athleticism: Quicker than fast athlete. Good balance and foot quickness. Solid strike zone and capable of plucking outside of his frame. Plays with decent functional strength. Possesses more elusiveness and agility than pure speed in RAC-phase.
Instincts: Does a good job of using a speed release versus off coverage. Can sell his vertical stems well to lift coverage. Motors down with good sinkage at breakpoints on comebacks and curls. Good concentration through catch points in light traffic on the interior second level.
Polish: Usually lines up off the ball. Works as a stacked receiver, No. 2 in 2x2 and trips sets, also spends time as No. 3 in trips and in the slot in other alignments. Rarely faces press coverage and needs to acquire a release plan. He needs to increase his mental processing in finding coverage voids and sideline awareness.
Bottom Line: Smith possesses more quickness than classic long speed. He does most of his damage in the quick game with whips, speed outs, and shallow crosses, as well as various swings and screens. Smith projects as a slot/WR3 in an offense that features him in mostly quick-game concepts and emphasizes RAC-opportunities in its passing attack.