You don’t need to be an expert scout to understand that a 6’4, 185 lb. WR/S with a D1 hoops background don’t grow on trees and can blow up at the college level, and speaking of blowing up, West Aurora High School’s Terrence Smith has exploded into the P5 recruiting scene. Smith has been steadily pulling in offers since the start of last year, but the P5 offers haven’t been rolling in since the recent dead period was lifted. Four MAC offers from last January to last May, two D1 basketball offers and two more MAC offers during the fall set up his exciting junior offseason, which has seen him reel in offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, and Iowa, all since January 31st. Additionally, Smith has already visited Iowa City and the Hawkeyes, so the B1G heavyweight seems to be in the driver’s seat at this early point in his budding recruitment.

The hoops background absolutely shows up in his gridiron exploits, and Smith opens his tape with a beautiful one-handed snag up in the air and between three different DBs for a reception that few prospects could even dream of pulling off. Smith is a deadly WR and a matchup nightmare both before, during, and after the catch, mostly due to his lateral ability and unreal ball skills. He’s got the contested catch ability that you’d hope from a D1 hooper, and boy does this kid have bounce, as his 50/50 ball skills and ability to high-point the rock are off the charts and arguably the best in the Land of Lincoln. Plus, Smith has good concentration and a long gait helps him cover a ton of ground with each step, great balance and can slip out of and run through tackle attempts after the catch, and good speed that can take the top off the defense. The 6’4, 180 lber. is hard to bring down thanks to his sheer length and strength, displays effective cuts in the open field and lateral ability can make defenders miss in a variety of ways after the catch, and is an aggressive blocker out on the perimeter. You don’t find 6’4 wideouts with his combo of speed, physicality, and ball skills very often, and Smith seems built to succeed at the P5 level.

You get every bit of reach out of Smith. Just watch him make that one handed snag to start his junior highlights. Then watch him high point the fade in the end zone on the next play. Terrence excels at being aggressive at the catch point. With his length and strong hands, Smith is one of the biggest targets you will find in the state of Illinois. The junior also has enough speed, and uses his long strides to eat up ground as he stacks DBs. Check him out, and get him on campus this offseason.