Elite 2023 Recruit James Smith Set for First Prospect Visits

Alabama native has "never been on a real recruiting visit."

Few rising-junior football recruits have the offer list James Smith sports. The Montgomery (Ala.) Carver defensive lineman, who is listed at 6'4", 280 pounds this spring, has Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, Texas and many others coveting his verbal commitment. 

Ole Miss joined the offer party Thursday, following Florida earlier in the month. The list goes on and on, and will grow in the coming months for the few blue bloods yet to extend the good news. 

Even Clemson, which is known for waiting until prospects are upperclassmen before offering, has been in communication with the inside-out defender before making their expected move.

Smith has the attention prospects dream of, but he has yet to take part in the recruiting process beyond communication. In fact, he has yet to make an initial prospect visit from the traditional, in-person sense. 

It will change in June now that the NCAA will lift its 15-month dead period. 

"We'll start with visits in June, but I haven't been on a visit, ever," he told SI All-American. "I've been to a game, but it was to see (former Carver standout) Marlon (Davidson) play. It was Auburn versus Georgia a couple years ago. 

"I've never been on a real recruiting visit."

Smith said he is considering trips to many of the programs having offered, but there are no dates locked in as of this week.

"I just want to try it, have fun and maybe try on some jerseys," he said with a laugh. "Just see what they have to offer." 

The tenders from Ohio State and LSU are among those that have his attention early on, citing consistent communication with each. Smith isn't expecting to make any considerable recruiting moves for the next year, though. 

"Coach (Larry) Johnson and Ohio State, they just like to check in on me, to keep in touch," he said. "It's about maintaining communication. They develop players like Chase Young, Nick Bosa, so that's what I like about them. 

"From LSU I talk to the D-line coach (Andre Carter) and we've built a good relationship. That's what I like about them, the relationship."

It would be too early to discount the in-state SEC offers already in for Smith. The Carver-Montgomery program has produced considerable prospects on either side of the Iron Bowl rivalry between Alabama and Auburn. 

The relationship with Davidson, the Tiger great selected with the Atlanta Falcons' second-round pick in 2020, is among the most current among Wolverines at the next level and beyond.

"Big brother, we talk a lot," Smith said. "He tells me to stay humble and keep working. He really doesn't care where I go, as long as I do what I need to do."

With Alabama, the offer resonated relative to how Smith grew up.

"I grew up an Alabama fan," he said. "It's close to home, a winning-team. The offer was kind of an accomplishment because as a kid I would say, 'I want to play for Nick Saban.'

"When I got the offer, he said, 'congratulations you've received an offer from Alabama. I was kind of shocked, I didn't expect it." 

As Smith sets up the first visits of his recruitment, he is shaping the picture of the perfect program for his future. A lot of the evaluation will be about the intangible as opposed to the sell from a particular coaching staff.

"I want it to feel like home, I want it to feel like I'm supposed to be there. Like it's meant for me," he said. "I don't want to get to a campus just because someone told me something, like lying to get me on campus."

With experience on the edge and inside, where most college programs project given his frame, Smith admits he prefers putting pressure on an offense from the outside at this time. He is open, though, to a permanent move down the line should it best suit his future program's needs.

"I play where my team needs me," he said.

Smith, who helped the Carver-Montgomery program to seven wins in 2020, admits Clemson is the primary scholarship offer he would like to attain among those not on the list to date.

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