Washington CB Branden Smith visits UGA

He has been called the biggest fish in one of the nation’s biggest ponds.

Branden Smith, a defensive back from Booker T. Washington, is ranked as the state’s No. 1 football recruiting prospect by the AJC and Rivals and has had, at one time or another, most major-college programs in the country wanting his time.

Smith has taken official visits to Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Florida State and says he will announce his college decision on Jan. 4.

This past weekend, Smith made a recruiting trip to Georgia. He shared the details of his Athens trip with staff writer Michael Carvell:

FRIDAY

• 5 p.m. — Branden and his mother, Teresa Wynn, arrive at the Hilton Hotel in Athens and are greeted in the lobby by Georgia recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner.

Georgia is Smith’s fourth and final official visit and the first trip that his mother has made. Wynn has endorsed Georgia as her favorite, but also said she will support her son with whichever school he selects.

• 6:30 p.m. — The lights of Stanford Stadium illuminate the campus skyline as Smith drives up to the facility. Around a dozen other high school prospects are making official visits to Georgia, and they are standing in the middle of the field watching the final minutes of a highlight video from Georgia’s regular season on the gigantic scoreboard.

At dinner, Smith sits down next to Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and his wife.

• 8 p.m. — Everyone piles into a bus headed for coach Mark Richt’s house in the Athens suburbs. While Richt stays on the main floor to talk with parents and family members, the prospects and Georgia players file into the basement to play video games and watch the state high school championship game between Marist and Tucker on the big-screen TV.

Smith is introduced to his recruiting host for weekend, Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green, who recently was named SEC Freshman of the Year. Said Smith: “A.J. is laid back and kind of quiet. He’s a real cool guy.”

• 10 p.m. — The players and prospects leave to check out the college social scene.

SATURDAY

• 9 a.m. — After having breakfast with the Georgia coaches at the hotel, Smith meets with the school’s academic staff and tours the campus for a couple of hours.

• 12 p.m. — At the Butts-Mehre athletic building, Georgia has practice for its bowl game. Smith and his mother go to the meeting room for defensive backs, where they listen to instruction from Martinez. After the Georgia players exit to change into practice gear, Martinez stays to chat with Smith and the other two prospects at defensive back, Early County’s Shawn Williams and Jordan Love of Glen Allen, Va. Both Williams and Love were early commitments to Georgia.

• 1:30 p.m. — Smith walks around the practice field and waves at Georgia safety Reshad Jones. They played together at Washington in 2005. For months, Smith has spared no praise when talking about playing with Jones: “It was one of the best experiences of my life. [Jones] shut down one side of the field, and I’d shut down the other. That’s what everybody loves to see, when Georgia boys stick together … there’s a lot of people that would love to see Reshad and me playing together again in college.”

• 4 p.m. — There’s some downtime before the evening events, and many prospects return to the hotel for a short rest.

• 5 p.m. — The annual Georgia football banquet is the highlight of the recruiting weekend. The team’s players are wearing tuxedos, and the prospects are permitted to wear any attire. Smith is prepared for the special occasion, changing into a black suit with a red tie.

“I knew the [banquet] was going to be a big thing, so I dressed for it,” Smith said. “I had to be presentable.”

• 6:30 p.m. — All the recruits sit at the same table, and Smith is next to Carver-Columbus linebacker Jarvis Jones. Both prospects are Georgia’s top remaining in-state targets. Smith is approached by Georgia supporters who want photos taken with him.

“That was kind of surprising,” he said, laughing. “I didn’t think anyone would know who any of the recruits were with All-America players like Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford in the same room.”

• 8 p.m. — Every time that Stafford and Moreno go to the podium for an award, the crowd chants, “One more year, one more year.” Throughout the evening, the Georgia players stop by Smith’s table to say hello to the prospects and to plan post-banquet activities.

SUNDAY

• 9 a.m. — It’s breakfast again with Georgia’s coaches, then over to Butts-Mehre for a brief tour of the program’s football history. Smith gets to see Georgia’s 1981 national championship award and Herschel Walker’s Heisman Trophy.

• 10 a.m. — In the Georgia locker room, there’s a No. 1 jersey that Smith gets to put on. Richt told Smith months ago that the number was reserved for Smith if he picked the Bulldogs.

“That meant a lot to me. I mean, it’s not going to be a deal-breaker, the reason why I would pick or not pick a college,” Smith said. “But it would be cool to have my high school No. 1 in college if it worked out that way.”

• 11 a.m. — Smith sits with Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who shows film clips of Champ Bailey playing offense and defense for the Bulldogs.

“Coach Bobo said he would love to have some specially-designed offensive plays for me — you know quick screens, hitches — to get me in open space on the field,” Smith said. “Yeah, I’d love to play some both ways in college. That sounds good to me. If there’s any way I can help my team win, I want to do it.”

• 12:30 p.m. — Smith and his mother talk with Martinez, then Richt. This is biggest moment of every prospect’s official visit, meeting with the head coach before departure. This is when the coach tries his best to get the prospect to commit.

Knowing that Smith is determined to wait until January to announce his decision, Richt goes with the soft sell.

“Coach Richt didn’t put a lot of pressure on me,” Smith said. “He just told me to make the right decision and to go with my heart. I wasn’t surprised that [Richt] didn’t pressure me. Through the recruiting process, I’ve gotten to know coach Richt and find out what type of person he is. He really seems laid back and is a great Christian man. He didn’t seem to be pressing any of the players there.”

• 2 p.m. — Richt walks Smith and his mother out the door and thanks them for the visit. “My mom had a real good time, and so did I,” Smith said. “I like Georgia a lot. That’s not really a secret. We’ll just see what happens.”

A UGA Wish List

Here are the top five prospects that Georgia has targeted to complete the 2009 recruiting class:

• Marlon Brown, WR, Memphis - New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin said he wants to build a fence around the state. Will Brown leap over it?

• Orson Charles, TE, Tampa, Fla. - Miami is the leader, but Charles is best buddies with teammate Aaron Murray, who has committed to Georgia.

• Jarvis Jones, LB, Columbus - All signs point to Jones going out of state.

• Bobby Massie, OT, Hargrave Military, Va. - It’s Georgia, Miami and Alabama in the chase for the nation’s No. 1 prep-school prospect.

• Branden Smith, DB, Atlanta - Georgia appears the team to beat, but no one will know for sure until Jan. 4.