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Late push sways Georgia lineman
By
Sammy Batten
©2016 Bonesville.net
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D'Ante Smith's journey to play
college football in North Carolina took a detour to the East last week.
The offensive lineman from Grovetown,
Georgia accepted a scholarship offer last July to play in the western
edge of the state for Appalachian State, which became the first team in
Sun Belt Conference history to win 11 games this season.
But earlier this month when East
Carolina's new staff was able to leave campus for recruiting, offensive
line coach Geep Wade found his way to Grovetown and quickly established
a rapport with Smith and Grovetown head coach Rodney Holder.
“Coach Geep, he's a good one,'' said
Holder, who resigned after seven years at Grovetown following the 2015
season. “He did a great job recruiting D'Ante. They were lucky in
getting a guy like him at East Carolina.''
Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe had
also gotten involved with Smith as the New Year began and offered
scholarships. But Geep presented an offer on January 21 and immediately
had Smith come to Greenville for an official visit that following
weekend.
The Pirates made such a good
impression on Smith and his mother that he committed before returning
home.
“He just said the energy was
unbelievable,'' Holder said. “He felt their staff was sincere in his
recruitment. You know recruiting can be pretty crazy. For a 17-year-old
kid to feel that comfortable with somebody so quick is huge. He said it
just felt like home.''
The 6-foot-5 1/2, 290-pounder is the
15th player to join
ECU's recruiting Class of 2016 and the third since
Scottie Montgomery was hired as head coach in December. He is the third
offensive lineman and second player out of Georgia to pick the Pirates.
Smith transferred to Grovetown from
Laney High in Augusta after his freshman football season. Holder
immediately recognized Smith's potential and got him involved with the
wrestling team.
“He took to it immediately and was
our heavyweight for two straight years,'' Holder said. “We learned a lot
about him that first year wrestling. We saw he was a focus-driven kid
and that he wasn't going to be a problem.''
Wrestling also hastened Smith's
physical maturity.
“By wrestling he toughened up and his
body matured. He got a lot stronger,'' Holder said. “You could see it
when he joined the football team in his sophomore year. By his junior
year, he just exploded because he was so much bigger and confident. He
mauled everybody we played against last season. He's a legit player.''
Smith started at left tackle as a
sophomore, then emerged as an all-star blocker in 2014. He earned
second-team all-area honors from the Augusta Chronicle and after the
season was invited to played in the 2nd annual Georgia Elite Junior
Classic that brings together 70 of the state's top 11th graders for a
game.
The honors continued to come Smith's
way as a senior, starting back in May when he was received the
second-best overall rating among offensive linemen at The Opening
combine in Atlanta. He went on to earn first-team All-County from the
Columbia County News-Times and a spot on the Georgia squad for Border
Bowl III earlier this month. The latter, an all-star game pitting
Georgia against South Carolina, was won by Smith's team, 35-21.
Holder said Smith saved his best
moments as a senior for Grovetown's toughest competition. Against
Georgia powerhouse Warner Robins, Holder said Smith had such a
dominating performance that it prompted one opponent to start throwing
punches.
“D'Ante had been blocking down on
this linebacker on about 50 percent of our run stuff that game,'' Holder
said. “He was killing this kid all night. Well, late in the third
quarter D'Ante blocks the kid into their bench and he comes up swinging.
“The kid he was blocking was a
second-team all-region player so he wasn't picking on women and children
late in the game. He dumped the guy right into the bench, and I'm glad
it didn't blow up into a major fight. We just told him, 'Good job. Go do
it again.' ''
Smith is a young senior – he won't
turn 18 until next June – so Holder isn't sure how quickly he'll work
himself up ECU's depth chart. But he believes Smith's potential for
growth physically and as a football player is immense.
“There is a big different mentally
and physically between a 17-year-old and 20- or 22-year-olds,'' Holder
said. “But you put him in any huddle and he'll fit. He has an amazing
physical presence. He's 6-5 1/2 and has an amazing wingspan. He can
stand on one side of a room and touch the other side.
“This is a kid who wants to be great
on the football field and in the classroom. He's a 3.2 student. I think
East Carolina is going to be very happy with him in the long run.''
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01/27/2016 04:02 AM |
