Four-star edge Jacob Smith says Nebraska will be in his final five

This trip was significant for Nebraska and Cheshire (Conn.) Cheshire Academy Edge Jacob Smith. The four-star recruit has been on 20+ visits, and his mom has only been on three or four. Nebraska has clearly stood out to Smith and strengthened its position this weekend. Smith knows following today that Nebraska will be in his final five schools.

“I told coach Rob (Dvoracek) that I was going to come back to see how they looked from then to now,” Smith said. “To see the improvements and how they have been coached.

“They were moving a lot better than they were at the practice. They looked fundamentally better and looked like they knew what they were doing. There were some hiccups just because it’s a new coaching staff, first year here, and they are just learning some new things. I feel like they will be good.”

Jacob Smith checks out final spring scrimmage at Nebraska

Smith saw a live scrimmage today, which surprised him. He knows that going live is the best way to get better.

“I was actually very surprised to see even the quarterbacks were live. Usually, it’s just thud or wrap. To see them actually hitting shows that they are trying to get better. They want to get better and that’s the best way to get better is going full live than going thud or just wrapping up.”

Smith is focused on upcoming combines at his school during the evaluation period. He says that he is also working on trimming his list, and once he can, he will schedule his official visits.

“I know we have a few combine things coming up at school,” Smith said. “A lot of coaches are going to pop up there. I am going to drop my top five by the end of next week and then I am going to schedule my OVs (official visits).”

Nebraska will make final five for Jacob Smith

Smith has announced a top ten already and needs to cut his current list in half. Ahead of dropping his top five, he could share that Nebraska made the next cut.

“Nebraska is in the top five!” Smith said. “I can’t let it (top five) out right now because I am about to drop it. Nebraska is definitely in my top five.”

Smith was one of the first 2024 recruits that Nebraska reached out to once Matt Rhule was announced as the head coach. The current staff at Nebraska has produced NFL talent and coached at the NFL level, and Smith feels like they can develop him into an NFL player.

“Honestly, I like the coaching staff. I feel like they can do what they need to do to get me to the next level. I have seen that they can do it coming from Baylor. They hit me up late, but then they showed me that this was worth my while.”

Smith’s mom, Susan, made the trip with Jacob. She has only been on a handful of visits with her son. How her son was describing Nebraska following his first visit inspired her to make the next trip to Lincoln.

“She wanted to come on it,” Smith said. “She’s enjoyed it. She has liked that she heard and liked what she saw. She is seeing what I am seeing. At first, she questioned me about it, but now she’s seeing what I am seeing.”

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