Donavon Smith Donavon Smith 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB/DL Knox Central | 2027 State KY has had a strong junior year and continued to impress in Knox Central’s Round 1 win over Letcher County Central. Smith lined up at inside linebacker where he proved to be very reliable against the run, finishing the game with a team-leading 19 tackles and three tackles for loss. He reads the play quickly the shoots out of his stance in a hurry, meeting the ball carrier to make the tackle before they can gain any momentum. Smith also finished the game with one sack. Donavon doesn’t currently hold any offers but he is a player who college coaches should have on their radar. Smith and the Panthers have a tough task ahead of them this week in a matchup against a talented Bell County team.

Donavon Smith Donavon Smith 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB/DL Knox Central | 2027 State KY is off to a hot start to his junior year and he continued to impress on Knox Central’s Week 7 victory over McCreary Central. Smith proved to be very reliable against the run, showing the ability to read his keys then use his speed to run all over the field to get to the ball carrier in a hurry. Once he got to the ball carrier, he did a great job of securing the tackle, finishing the game with a team-high 30 tackles along with two tackles for loss. Donavon doesn’t currently hold any offers but he is a player who college coaches should keep a close eye on over the next two years.

Donavon Smith Donavon Smith 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB/DL Knox Central | 2027 State KY is off to a very impressive start to his junior year as he currently leads 3A in tackles with 81 in five games. Smith lines up at inside linebacker where he does a great job of reading his keys then flowing to the ball carrier with a sense of urgency. Once he gets to the ball carrier, he does a great job of running his feet through contact to secure the tackle. He has also shown the ability to make plays against the pass, accounting for two sacks and an interception so far this season. Donavon has received some college interest and I expect coaches to be keeping a close eye on him over the next two years.

Donavon Smith Donavon Smith 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB/DL Knox Central | 2027 State KY is a player who caught my attention with a strong sophomore season. He lined up at inside linebacker where he was very impressive against the run, finishing the year with a team-leading 116 tackles along with four tackles for loss in 11 games. Smith does a great job of reading his keys then exploding downhill to get to the ball carrier in a hurry to make the tackle before they can get going. He also showed reliability as a blitzer, timing the snap count perfectly to shoot into the backfield untouched. Smith finished this past season with seven sacks. Donavon also recovered two fumbles as a sophomore, returning one of them for a touchdown. Smith doesn’t currently hold any offers but he should be a player to keep an eye on heading into his junior year.