Notre Dame Football Recruiting
2018 RB Dontae Smith Impresses at Notre Dame
June 19, 2017
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Irish Invasion may have been the headline camp of the summer, but Notre Dame hosted a ton of talent over the weekend at its Evaluation Camp. One of the top prospects was 2018 Spring Hill (Tenn.) running back Dontae Smith, who has impressed at every camp he has been at since the spring.
“It went really good,” Smith told Irish Sports Daily. “I enjoyed the camp and the tour they gave us. It was a fun camp.”
Smith got his chance to impress the offensive staff throughout the day, and that included some one-on-one situations with a linebacker.
“We started some stations after stretching, and then we went into position drills,” explained Smith. “We then worked with the linebackers and did some one-on-one in open space. We also ran some routes again the linebackers too.”
While he was there to earn an offer, Smith got the chance to enhance his game working with running backs coach Autry Denson.
“It was fun working with Coach Denson,” Smith stated. “He’s a cool coach. The drills we did were their plays. We ran it the way they run their stuff.”
The three-star prospect not only did well in positional drills, but Smith ran a 4.42 on Saturday and put himself in a position to get good news as soon as Monday.
“They said I have the athletic ability to get an offer,” Smith said. “They want to do some background on me, and they will let me know on Monday. I am totally fine with what they told me.”
Irish Sports Daily
2018 RB Dontae Smith and Brian Kelly
The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder also got time with other members of the Notre Dame staff. Head coach Brian Kelly pulled him aside and spoke to the Tennessee native to let him know where he stood.
“I think I talked to just about all the coaches, including Coach Kelly,” stated Smith. “He was the one who told me about the school and said they wanted to check out my background.”
The Notre Dame campus also impressed Smith as he got to see the facilities and the tradition the program holds.
“We didn’t go around a lot, but from what I saw, the campus and school were nice,” explained Smith. “We went to the stadium, which looked very nice. We walked around the locker room and everything. Everything looks so nice at Notre Dame.”
If the Irish do pull the trigger on Smith, it would be a hard one for Smith to turn down after what he experienced this weekend.
“It would definitely be a big offer,” said Smith. “I really like it up there. I liked everything about it. The relationship I built with the coaches in such little time was awesome. I loved It at Notre Dame.”
“It went really good,” Smith told Irish Sports Daily. “I enjoyed the camp and the tour they gave us. It was a fun camp.”
Smith got his chance to impress the offensive staff throughout the day, and that included some one-on-one situations with a linebacker.
“We started some stations after stretching, and then we went into position drills,” explained Smith. “We then worked with the linebackers and did some one-on-one in open space. We also ran some routes again the linebackers too.”
While he was there to earn an offer, Smith got the chance to enhance his game working with running backs coach Autry Denson.
“It was fun working with Coach Denson,” Smith stated. “He’s a cool coach. The drills we did were their plays. We ran it the way they run their stuff.”
The three-star prospect not only did well in positional drills, but Smith ran a 4.42 on Saturday and put himself in a position to get good news as soon as Monday.
“They said I have the athletic ability to get an offer,” Smith said. “They want to do some background on me, and they will let me know on Monday. I am totally fine with what they told me.”
Irish Sports Daily
2018 RB Dontae Smith and Brian Kelly
“I think I talked to just about all the coaches, including Coach Kelly,” stated Smith. “He was the one who told me about the school and said they wanted to check out my background.”
The Notre Dame campus also impressed Smith as he got to see the facilities and the tradition the program holds.
“We didn’t go around a lot, but from what I saw, the campus and school were nice,” explained Smith. “We went to the stadium, which looked very nice. We walked around the locker room and everything. Everything looks so nice at Notre Dame.”
If the Irish do pull the trigger on Smith, it would be a hard one for Smith to turn down after what he experienced this weekend.
“It would definitely be a big offer,” said Smith. “I really like it up there. I liked everything about it. The relationship I built with the coaches in such little time was awesome. I loved It at Notre Dame.”
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