Blue Chips: Breaking down Michigan commits Jacob Smith, Jerod Smith
I recently caught up with Cheshire (Conn.) Academy head coach Bill Mella to get his thoughts on four-star Michigan commits Jacob Smith and Jerod Smith.
Here are some highlights from the interview.
On his overall thoughts on Jacob:
“First off, I’m so excited that he made his decision and that the twins are going to stay together at Michigan. It’s a great story for the next four years. They both have very different personalities. They are great kids. Jacob has been great. The moment he came in, he said ‘tell me what I can lift, tell me what that is, tell me what this is.’ He threw himself and immersed himself in the program. He was all in from Day 1. That means more to me than anything else. Obviously, he’s a talented football player, and that’s going to be fun to watch, but he’s an excellent student in the classroom and has been a team player from the get go. He wants to make his teammates better. He wants to win. What more could you ask for?”
On Jacob’s biggest strengths:
“The first thing that really impressed me about him is he has the ability to dip under offensive linemen without losing balance. It’s really impressive. He can get on an angle that defies physics. You’re talking about a 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 kid that is 230 pounds. The entire length of his body is like at a 30-degree angle at full speed. He takes that rush angle and crushes the pocket because of his ability to do that. He just has really good balance and acceleration. His ability to get underneath, use his hands and accelerate through the tackle.”
On his overall thoughts on Jerod:
“On defense, we like to start everything from the front. Jerod is an extremely impactful five-technique in our defensive front. That is going to create issues for every offensive line that we see this season. That’s a really good place to start building a defense from. He’s similar to his brother in that he’s a great student, all about the team and wants to win. You love the opportunity to coach kids like that.”
On where Jerod projects best at the next level:
“It depends on what Michigan does with their one- and three-techniques. He’s a five-technique and can be your EDGE, but you could also have an EDGE on the outside and use him as a three-technique on the move. It’s going to be interesting to see how Michigan uses him. He’s going to mainly be a five-technique for us on the strong side. The kid is going to grow. He’s going to be in Michigan’s strength program. I bet you he’s going to be impactful in a number of different ways at Michigan.”
On how the twins will fit in at Michigan:
“The tradition of the Big Ten is still high-level athletes, smash-mouth football, Linebacker U, Tight End U, Offensive Line U, whatever it may be. These kids love contact. They love the hand fighting and 1-on-1 aspects of their jobs. That fits into what Michigan has done over the last few years with their recruiting classes and putting themselves in the national picture with a strong, sound, aggressive defense with very athletic linemen to the backfield. These two kids are extremely athletic. If that quarterback lines up and looks to his right and sees J. Smith and looks to his left and sees J. Smith, you’re going to have to give it a couple of different thoughts before you snap that ball.”
On Michigan’s recruiting approach:
“I’ve dealt primarily with Coach (Mike) Elston. He’s a top-notch guy. I was really impressed with the way he treated his visits and the players he’s recruiting. That was very appreciative for me. I haven’t spoken with Coach (Jim) Harbaugh yet, but I’ve had recruiting dealings with him in the past. I think Michigan is definitely a national program. I’m happy to see them doing so well. I was a fan back in the Bo Schembechler days for sure. It’s really cool to see a traditional program back in the national spotlight.”
On what he wants to add about the twins:
“I like them as young men. I was thrilled about being able to coach them. I know they are talented, but I love how they pop into my classroom just to say ‘hey coach, we want to get a lift in’ or ‘hey coach, we want to go over this later.’ It’s those simple interactions that tell me that they care about being part of it and building it. Those are the kids that when you look back at your own legacy or time as a coach, you remember. Those memories make you smile. I appreciate that.”
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