Georgia commit breaks down visit to Clemson with his family

Smith poses with Bates, Venables and his family

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Mon Jun 19 08:01:02 GMT-04:00 2017

It’s only been a month since Georgia commit Nolan Smith received a Clemson offer, but he was so intrigued by what the Tigers have to offer he convinced his mother to take a spur of the moment weekend visit to the Palmetto State.

The 4-star 2019 Bradenton (FL) IMG defensive end wanted his family to see what he sees in Clemson.

“I talked to one of the coaches decided that I wanted to take a visit, so me and my mom made that happen,” Smith told TigerNet Sunday afternoon. “My family loved it. My mom really enjoyed it, and that was one of the main keys. I wanted to make sure my mom enjoyed it.”

On his visit, the 6-3, 225-pound weakside end spent time with defensive coordinator Brent Venables and new line coach Todd Bates. Smith said both coaches had the same message for him.

“I hung out and talked to Coach Bates and Coach Venables,” he said. “They just told me to be humble and to continue working hard and everything will pan out. They said just to pray about it.”

Smith said everything about Clemson stands out to him, but he likes the family feel around the program.

“Just the atmosphere. They preach family and that's a big thing because on the field you have to be together and as a team, and that's your family that you're fighting with every day,” Smith said. “They preach that not only to their players but to everybody and they really become something special.”

In addition to Georgia and Clemson, Smith has offers from Alabama, Florida, LSU, Miami (FL), South Carolina and Tennessee.

Since committing to Georgia in January, Smith said he will continue to listen to offers from other teams and take visits, but at this time he doesn’t want to divulge where things stand after the Clemson visit.

“I got a lot out of the visit, but I can't really get into any details or disclose anything,” he said. “I got to see a lot and I really enjoyed my visit. I can't disclose really where my recruiting stands.”

The good news for Clemson is that they have 2018 commits Xavier Thomas and Mike Jones, Jr. as recruiters at IMG.

“Those are some funny guys. They mostly stay in my ear about it,” Smith said about Thomas and Jones.

Smith said he will take one more visit this summer to Alabama, but he wants to turn his focus to his teammates and upcoming season.

“I'm probably going to visit Alabama again. I really can't speak on the future, but I know those are my guys and we're going to work hard every day,” he said.