AJC > Sports > Football Recruiting > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 26 > Entry

Recruiting Q&A: Washington’s Branden Smith, state’s No. 1 prospect

Washington defensive back Branden Smith, a member of the AJC’s The Georgia 150 and considered by some to be the state’s top prospect, electrified fans in the stadium and on ajc.com with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown last week. He talked with staff writer Jay Stone about his career goals and being recruited.

On what he looks for in a visit to a college: “Looking at my position, see how everybody plays and see how the coaches coach.”

On being a fan: “All schools. I’ve been a fan of all schools. I’ve always been more of an NFL fan, but I like all the teams.”

If he weren’t a football player he’d be … “A sports broadcaster. I like them all. I’m really just kind of getting into it. I’ve done interviews. I interviewed a player on my team one time for a class.”

On what’s a deal-breaker for you with a school recruiting you? “I’m a laid-back person. Things like that don’t get to me.”

On how many autograph requests he gets: “Not that many. Just a couple. Not that many people from my school. Some teachers want me to sign stuff for them. Being the person I am, I understand people wanting to have those memories.”

On college games he has been to as a fan: “I’ve been to games at UAB to watch my brother [Darrell Hackney, now with the Denver Broncos] and Roddy White.”

On how big of a factor a schools’ current depth chart is in his college choice: “It’s a factor. I’m not worried about being challenged or working, but when I get there as a freshman I’ll be at the end, and it’d be pretty hard to work through it.”

On how much of a factor the team’s current season is: “It’s not a big factor. Right now all the teams are good, and they’re all recruiting big and hard. Every year different teams win.”

On what he wants to study in college: “Communications. Basically Deion Sanders and other people like that. My brother’s major was communications, and he told me the things he did in school. It looked pretty interesting.”

On his brother’s influence: “It’s very good to have Darrell. I’m just following in his footsteps. Not necessarily doing everything he did, but going to college and getting the education and playing. Then I’ll make a name for myself.”

Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Other schools

Comments

By Jamal

September 27, 2008 8:03 AM | Link to this

A great person on and off the field. We would love to have you playing between the hedges in Athens. You could be the next superstar to play on both sides of the ball (i.e. Champ Bailey). Good luck bro!

By Bob

September 27, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this

I just hope his next helmet has a G for Georgia on it and his game day jersey is red, black or white.

By Bubba from Buckhead

September 27, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

I agree! So many of our top recruits get sucked out of Georgia, only to make other programs dominant. Branden enjoy HS, get your education, and choose a school in Georgia. Sic’em Dawgs, Woof!

By bama22

September 28, 2008 7:26 AM | Link to this

Come to the dark side and Saban will make you a superstar as a db and punt returner!! Good luck way ever you go to school son. ROLL TIDE!!

By USC Gamecock

September 30, 2008 7:37 AM | Link to this

Great defensive backs go to USC! The C0CKS are primed to win the SEC so come on over and join Steve Spurrier’s team…we need a solid guy like you.

GO C0CKS…beat ole miss

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