New Football Commit “Still so Raw, It’s a Little Scary. His Upside is Tremendous.”
If the words of a high school coach are to be trusted, Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson may have unearthed a diamond in the rough when he landed his 14th verbal commitment yesterday. Meet your newest Sun Devil.
Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson may have unearthed a diamond in the rough yesterday when he landed his 14th verbal commitment.
The latest addition to the Class of 2009 is 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds. He can play four positions. Oh yeah, and he’s 19 years old.
Meet tight end/fullback/linebacker/defensive end Greg Smith, who was recently described as “so raw, it’s a little scary, his upside is tremendous” by his coach at Perris Citrus Hill in California’s Riverside County.
Smith’s age and, uh, rawness are aftereffects of tremendous struggles earlier in his life. The Riverside Press-Enterprise recently documented Smith’s struggles.
“Back then, Smith was choosing where to sleep at night. With his mother battling drug addiction, Smith dropped out of Alta Loma High his freshman year and began washing cars to support himself. He bounced around, spending his nights at the homes of various family members and friends. “I was homeless,” Smith said. “It was a tough time.“
ASU plucked Smith away from a who’s who of non-BCS West Coast powers, but Oregon was reportedly gaining interest in taking on the project.
The guess here is that ASU’s improving defensive depth will land Smith on the offensive side of the ball as a tight end/fullback hybrid. Smith had 33 catches for 712 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior.
For the record, his teammate Deontae Cooper is a 6-foot, 185-pound running back who rushed for 3,000 yards and 43 touchdowns this year. Too bad he’s a junior.
Class of 2009
Smith’s commitment pushed the number of unsigned Class of 2009 commitments to 14. Click here for a rundown on our scholarship situation.
| Name | Position | Hometown |
| Corey Adams | DT | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Chris Coyle | TE | Westlake Village, CA |
| J.J. Holliday | WR | Tucson, AZ |
| Osahon Irabor | DB | Upland, CA |
| Anthony Jones | LB | Chandler, AZ |
| Kody Koebensky | OL | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Shane McCullen | ATH | Apache Junction, AZ |
| Jamal Miles | RB | Peoria, AZ |
| Anthony Rose | LB | Tempe, AZ |
| Greg Smith | ATH | Perris, CA |
| Max Smith | TE | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Will Sutton | DT | Corona, CA |
| Fred Thornton | OG | Phoenix, AZ |
| Marcus Washington | RB | Phoenix, AZ |
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Raise your cyber-hand if you’d LOVE to see ASU line up with a bruising fullback in the backfield. Maybe this could be the guy.
WOW!!! I AM SO EXCITED! I CANT WAIT TO SEE THE BOYS BACK ON THE FIELD….KEEPIN AN EYE ON THIS ONE! GOOOOO SUNDEVILS! WE LOVE YOU!
ak47 — my cyber hand is up in the air…way up!
From my previous post, I had asked Santa for a fullback for Xmas!
Old St. Nick may have just come thru!
good luck kid
does this sign mean we are basically out of scholarships to give and the 2009 class is complete?
Huh? We beat out a “who’s-who” of non-BCS powers for this 2-star recruit? Non-BCS powers? Is that like jumbo shrimp? Or military intelligence? Or effective Dbacks reliever?
Has it come to this where we get excited about a two-star recruit? Is this the path to beat Georgia and USC?
@Jake, I think we are just about done with recruiting. Obviously, if we could geta star like LB Vontaze Burfict, DE Devon Kennard or OT Evan Finkenberg to commit, we’d take them and move scholarships around. But I don’t expect many more “roster” guys like Smith committing.
@David, I don’t think anyone is saying Greg Smith is the second coming of Todd Heap. It’s good to have flexible athletes on the roster in times of need. Take it easy. Not every recruit can put us over the top against USC and Georgia.
just curious…what ever happened to eugene germany?
@Jake, Germany never made it into the program. Not sure where he is now. Here’s what ESPN said last August:
“Germany hasn’t sufficiently fulfilled requirements set forth by coach Dennis Erickson and the school to join the team, according to an athletic department official.”
Is Evan Finkenberg really a star and a big sign for us because I see he’s only a 2 star on scout and a 3 star on rivals…..? So now that he has signed is there any chance we can still get a guy like Burfict because I want Burfict he’s beast! Or is he already a lock for SC?