'10 GA DL Garrison Smith (Georgia Verbal)

[Buckskin86]

Douglas DL Garrison Smith chats with Mark Richt at UGA Junior Day
6:46 am March 25, 2009, by jhood

Watching the UGA team scrimmage and spending time with Georgia coach Mark Richt were the highlights for Douglass defensive lineman Garrison Smith during Junior Day.

?It was just small talk, just ordinary conversation. Everything isn?t always about football,? said Smith, whose 21 scholarship offers are from programs such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State and Tennessee.

?I really like coach Richt and his strong spiritual background. That?s what I?m about, too. I really respect him.?

So did Richt try to convince the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Smith to commit on Saturday?

?They always tell me I?m family and everything,? he said. ?I?m still evaluating, but I like Georgia.

?I still feel the same [about the Dogs]. They are still there.?

Douglas DL Garrison Smith chats with Mark Richt at UGA Junior Day | AJC College Sports Recruiting

[Buckeye86]

Garrison sounds like a great young man and everything he liked about Richt and Georgia are exactly the kind of things that make recruits respect and want to play for Tressel at Ohio State. The fact that Georgia is the home team here is obviously a major disadvantage for Ohio State though.

It sounds like we are still in pretty good shape which is good. It has been said a million times, but getting some standout defensive lineman, and especially defensive tackles, will really help to take our defense from really, really good to 2002 level domination. I hope it happens, and guys like Garrison can really help us out in that regard.

[wadc45]

Gallery | College Recruiting: Douglass DL Garrison Smith | ajc.com

[osugrad21]

Scout$--Motivation On The Wall For Smith

Garrison says tOSU will make his next cut and he is very impressed with the FCA activities amongst the team.

[Redhawk]

Scout.com: Keeping the Faith
(free)

Garrison Smith, the 6-foot-3.5, 255-pound four-star defensive tackle/end from Douglass High School in Atlanta, Ga., finished his junior season with a whopping 108 tackles, 27 for loss, 14 sacks and seven fumbles caused. ?I have good quickness off the ball and can change direction well,? Smith said. ?I have great power and play with heart. I love the game!?

He also has some great strength and says he can bench 405-pounds and squat 500.

?I still want to get more fundamentally sound,? he said. ?I?d like to be more disciplined and just be stronger in every part of my game.?

Smith, ranked as the No. 2 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com, says he has 24 scholarship offers and continues to deny any real favorites. ?I haven?t really been thinking about it,? he said. ?I haven?t narrowed down my list or anything.

?I?m going to be talking it all over with my parents and we?re gonna see what everyone has to offer,? he said. ?I want a program that is solid and has great coaches and players that I can get along with.

?As long as I?m playing football and getting an education I?ll play in any environment, anywhere,? he said. ?I don?t care if it?s a big city, a college town, hot or cold.?

But one thing that will matter to Smith is his faith. ?I want God to help guide me to make the right decision,? he said. ?I give all the glory to God and my Christian faith is very important to me and that?s something I?ll be looking to see at the schools as well.?

In fact, that?s one thing positive point that he?s heard about Ohio State. ?I?ve heard they have a lot of Christian-faith players,? he said. ?That?s a plus.? The Buckeyes have offered but Smith?s never been to Columbus.

He?s been to junior days at Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama and those are the only schools Smith?s visited. All have offered as well as LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, North Carolina and Clemson, among others.

?The Georgia Junior Day was really good,? Smith said. ?They are very high intensity and I love how hard they practice.

?Coach Mark Richt is a good man and a great guy,? he said. ?His players really respect him and he?s just so cool. He?s really involved with his players and is available to talk to and wants to help them grow as people and as players.?

But Smith is equally generous with praise for the new Tennessee coaches. ?They are really smart,? he said. ?They are so focused on winning and you just know they are going to succeed.

?The coaches at Tennessee are also pretty intense,? he said. ?Coach Lane Kiffin gets really fired up and he really knows how to motivate you. Off the field he?s a normal guy, but when it?s about football he?s totally different.?
Another coach who made a positive impression on Smith during his Junior Day experience was Nick Saban of Alabama. ?He?s doing great there,? he said.

?I love the history and tradition of Alabama,? he said. ?I love learning about the history of college football and Alabama with coach Bear Bryant was the best. Now it seems like coach Saban is building his own history there.?
Despite his love for college football, Smith says he never followed a specific team while growing up. ?There were too many to just have one,? he said. ?I just love watching football and no one really stood out.?

His parents don?t have a preference either. ?They?ll help me, but they don?t have a favorite school,? he said.

Smith says he used to throw shot (51?) but stopped to focus on football. ?I pretty much stopped playing other sports because I wanted to dedicate myself to football,? he said.

Don?t expect Smith to be narrowing down his list any time soon either as he doesn?t anticipate being able to attend any camps this summer. ?I have a job and I?ll be too busy working,? he said. ?I work at Six Flags and run the games there. It?s fun but I don?t have a lot of extra time.

?I?m just gonna take recruiting day-by-day,? he said.

Smith says he?d like to major in business and reports a 3.5 core GPA and a 1280 SAT

[amybuckeye]

This may seems crazy, but I love to hear about potential recruits that have a job. I dunno but to me it show a lot of character.

IIRC, Michael Jenkins is the last Buckeye recruit that mentioned that he had a job (working at a movie theater).

[BGriffBuckeye]

Originally Posted by amybuckeye

This may seems crazy, but I love to hear about potential recruits that have a job. I dunno but to me it show a lot of character.

IIRC, Michael Jenkins is the last Buckeye recruit that mentioned that he had a job (working at a movie theater).

I am pretty sure Chris FIelds from last years' class had one...

[osugrad21]

PalmettoSports

DE From ATL Likes USC, CU

By Eric Guimaraes
DE Garrison Smith (6-3 1/2 250) of Atlanta, GA has an offer from every single SEC school save Kentucky. He also has offers from Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, FSU, Ohio State, and Oklahoma and is expecting one from Southern Cal very soon. Smith has been to Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama and enjoyed all three visits. He wants to take more. "They were all nice," said Smith. "My parents have been working a lot so we really haven't had too much time to visit schools. I know which schools I'm interested in. I just need time to visit." Smith says both Clemson and USC are schools we would like to visit. "Most definitely," he said. "I'd llike to visit both of them." Smith had 108 tackles, 27 for loss, 14 sacks, and seven forced fumbles last season. He did not name his favorites.

[wadc45]

BN $ - Garrison Smith On OSU Offer: 'I have it framed in the den'

5/26

Talks about growing up watching OSU and plans to visit this summer...plans to take all five officials.

[Buckskin86]

Top high school recruits have big summer plans
By Michael Carvell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, June 06, 2009

Garrison Smith, ranked the nation?s No. 2 college prospect at defensive tackle by one recruiting service, is already pondering some 50 football scholarships offers.

And so how will spend his summer? Handling basketballs, of course.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Smith works 30-40 hours per week at Six Flags Over Georgia. He is the big unassuming guy who stands in the game booths, awarding the stuffed animals to those who can ring baskets.

?Both of my older brothers worked here, so I?m just following family tradition,? Smith said. ?My parents help me out when they can with money but I wanted to work to earn some extra spending cash of my own.

?There are some long days, but I enjoy it. I get to interact with a lot of people and try to brighten up their day.?

Smith hasn?t forgotten about football. Before or after work, Smith makes his way to Douglass High to lift weights and do conditioning drills to prepare for his senior season.

Top high school recruits have big summer plans | ajc.com

[osugrad21]

Scout$ (ND)--Smith Heads Into The Summer A Busy Man

Nothing major...not going to decide early and would like to visit ND.

[Redhawk]

Video...

Garrison Smith - ESPN Video - ESPN

[Buckskin86]

Douglass? Smith likes USC?s ?real cool dudes?
3:07 pm June 12, 2009, by Darryl Maxie
By DARRYL MAXIE / dmaxie@ajc.com

Being recruited by USC has taught Douglass defensive tackle Garrison Smith a thing or two about life on the West Coast.

?I actually talk to two coaches, Coach T-Mac [Todd McNair] and Coach [Jethro] Franklin,? Smith told scout.com. ?They are real cool dudes and are just real down to earth. They aren?t Hollywood type people like a lot of people like to stereotype those who live out in California.?

Smith, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound rising senior, hasn?t been to California ? yet, anyway ? but it?s in his plans.

?Oh, yeah, oh yeah, that?s a big trip and I gotta go see what it?s like in California,? he said. ?I heard it never rains in southern California, just like the song says.?

With more than 50 schools offering him scholarships ? Georgia and Georgia Tech long ago became part of that number, along with the who?s who of college football ? Smith has his pick. But for now he lacks interest in anointing a favorite.

?I?m just looking at all the schools and seeing what they have to offer,? he said. ?I like all the schoolsand I wasn?t expecting all of this to happen with recruiting, and have so many amazing opportunities. I?m just real thankful for everything and I?m just going to check out all the schools. God has been good to me.?

Douglass’ Smith likes USC’s ‘real cool dudes’ | AJC College Sports Recruiting

[osuteke]

Why is there so many question marks?


?

[jwinslow]

Firefox sometimes replaces apostrophes with ?. It's annoying.