He threw a punch at the sky, when the buzzer finally sounded. Then he shouted. Then he leaped – no, bounded was more like it – into the arms of one his coaches, Paul Gunsett.Harding junior running back Rod Smith has been listening to interest from other college suitors, but it will be difficult for any of them to overtake Ohio State as Smith’s future destination.
“I have been patient,” Smith said of his recruiting process. “I haven’t been worrying about it too much. I want to see what is the right fit for me.
“It has been on and off, kind of crazy. I get a lot of phone calls, but it has been going pretty good. If I see a different area code (on the caller ID), it is probably a reporter.”
Ohio State has been atop his list since the Buckeyes were impressed with Smith at a 7-on-7 camp as a freshman. Smith was at Ohio State’s Spring Game on April 25 and was treated like royalty.
“They are leading the pack,” Smith said of Ohio State. “I really like their program, and their coaches are really committed to the players. But I am trying to see what opens up out there for me.”
Smith has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State, Purdue, Iowa and Michigan State. He said he has had conversations with Michigan State recently. Also in the mix are Minnesota, Georgia and Oklahoma.
The official commitment won’t be until July, but he might wait until the end of his senior season, he said.
Smith has been making a name for himself nationwide as one of the top recruits in the country, although he has been known around Fort Wayne since he ran for 1,799 yards his freshman season. He followed that up with 1,286 yards as a sophomore and 1,685 yards as a junior.
Smith has already set the school record (4,770) for career rushing yards and is only 559 away from breaking former Wayne standout Ray Byers’ SAC record of 5,328.
With a gigantic senior season, Smith could threaten the northeast Indiana all-time record of Heritage’s Brandon Robinson (7,303) or the state record of Cathedral’s Otis Shannon (7,560). He would need 2,533 yards to catch Robinson and 2,790 for Shannon.
“My No. 1 goal is to make my team better and get down to state again,” Smith said of his senior year. “And I want to be the best player in Indiana and the nation.”
Smith is ranked as the 11th-best running back prospect in the nation by Scout.com recruiting service.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Smith could follow in the footsteps at running back of recent NFL draft pick Chris Wells. The Buckeyes picked up two outstanding recruits for next season in Carlos Hyde and Jaamal Berry.
