by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - 2015-03-26 15:51:51.0

Rahshaun Smith - Middle Linebacker
TigerNet: (4.77)

Height: 6-3 Weight: 240 Hometown: Bradenton, FL (IMG Academy HS) Class: 2016

ESPN:

Rivals:

Scout:

24/7:

Elite linebacker/defensive end prospect Rahshaun "Shaq" Smith has committed to Clemson on Thursday during a live stream on ESPN.com. Smith pulled a orange Clemson hat from under the table and announced that he was going to Clemson.

He chose Clemson over his other finalists - Alabama, Florida, Maryland and Oklahoma.

ESPN rates him as the #54 prospect in the nation for 2016 and a high four-star prospect. The Rivals.com recruiting service has him rated as the #1 outside linebacker in the entire country.

Smith is teammates of 2016 Clemson commit T.J. Chase and 2016 defensive back target Saivion Smith at IMG Academy in Florida.

As a junior, he had 111 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions.

He has national offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Boston College, Clemson, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Wisconsin and others.

Smith told reporters back in Feburary that he was extremely impressed by Clemson's facilities. "The camp, it blew my mind -- the facilities. If you've never been to Clemson and you hear Clemson, you think Clemson, they're good at football. That's what I thought. When I went to campus, it blew my mind away, everything about it. It was definitely a great feeling."

Clemson appears to view him as a outside linebacker that will also be versatile enough to rush the passer on certain packages. This recruit is a huge get for defensive coordinator Brent Venables and the entire Clemson coaching staff.

Clemson currently has eight commitments for the 2016 recruiting cycle including Rahshaun Smith, Tavien Feaster, T.J. Chase, Zerrick Cooper, J.C. Chalk, Sean Pollard, Jamie Skalski and Cornell Powell. The Tigers are ranked in the top ten nationally by several scouting services. He is the fourth member of the ESPN 300 to commit to Clemson for 2016 and the 17th ESPN 300 prospect to commit to Clemson in the last two years.

I Am 100% Committed To Clemson All Thanks To God And The Ones Who Helped Me Through This Process #WeTooDeep ???? #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/OWDRsgiU2t
— Humble & Hungry ?? (@Nextlevel_shaq) March 27, 2015

Congrats to #TheOpening Finals 2015 Invitee, LB Rahshaun Smith on his commitment to #Clemson. #SolidOrange #GOTOPEN pic.twitter.com/h4uYyIUW3k
— The Opening (@TheOpening) March 26, 2015