Jacob Smith, Wolverine

Jacob and Jerod Smith

Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy defensive end Jacob Smith committed to Michigan on Thursday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC, among others.

Smith is listed at 6'4" and 230 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 84 grade, #14 DE, #97 overall
On3: 3-star, 89 grade, #36 edge
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #16 WDE, #240 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #14 edge, #234 overall

Hit the jump for more.

Smith is the twin brother of Michigan defensive line commit Jerod Smith, so the commitment was not much of a surprise. However, he did fend off a push from Nebraska. In the aftermath of publicly committing to the Wolverines, he admitted that he committed to Michigan on Jerod's official visit (June 23-25). But a planned announcement for July 13 was then squelched in the day leading up to it . . . only to have the planned announcement be announced on the 13th, anyway.

Jacob Smith is a bit of a tweener as a defensive athlete, which is similar to his brother. Is Jacob an edge player or a linebacker? Michigan wants him as an edge player, but Nebraska wanted him as a linebacker. Jerod is a 5-tech defensive end . . . or a 3-tech defensive tackle. Jacob bends well, but he does not show the burst or bull rushing ability to seem like a consistently effective pass rusher. I think he is best used on stunts, where he shows the ability to get low, change direction well, and make plays in the backfield after getting freed up by scheme.

Overall, Jacob is a solid athlete who needs some time to develop as a player. I have a tough time gauging him as a player from his highlights, because it's not a highlight film chock full of amazing plays. It's a reel that inspires constant thoughts of, "Yeah, that's a pretty good play." Where does he fit on defense? I'm reminded a little bit of Jake Ryan, who was a very good college player at Michigan, but he was kind of a quasi-defensive end and then also spent time at middle linebacker.

Michigan now has several good options at the edge positions, where Smith is joined by Devon Baxter (LINK), Dominic Nichols (LINK), and Elias Rudolph (LINK).

TTB Rating: 74