St. Pius defensive back Geno Smith, an AJC Super 11 pick, became one of the nation’s most heavily recruited college prospects after solid performances against an all-star cast of wide receivers.
During his sophomore and junior years at the Atlanta private school, Smith was matched up against Gainesville’s Tai-ler Jones (signed with Notre Dame), Grady’s Damian Swann (Georgia), Greater Atlanta Christian’s Julian Horton (Arkansas) and Booker T. Washington’s Antonio Goodwin (Auburn), among others.
Smith, who had 40 early scholarship offers, committed to Alabama over Auburn on Wednesday in advance of his senior season at St. Pius.
“He got all the offers because he’s so fast and has so much tremendous athletic ability,” St. Pius coach Paul Standard said. “When he went to one of those college camps after his sophomore year, he performed so well with the way he could cover people, and recover.
“He has the ability, if he was to get beat, he has the recovery speed that I haven’t seen in too many other people in my 27 years of coaching. We haven’t had too many come through St. Pius like him.”
Standard likes to tell the college scouts about a play against North Hall last year. Smith was guarding wide receiver CJ Curry, who has since transferred to Flowery Branch for his senior year and committed early, choosing Oklahoma State over Georgia.
“He got beat on a run fake; that Curry kid got behind him,” Standard recalled. “I said on my headphones, ‘That’s a touchdown.’ I would be darned if Geno Smith didn’t turn and run, like it was no effort at all. He made up the ground he had gotten beat on and batted the ball away.”
After Smith showed he could compete against top competition, his mailbox was flooded with early college scholarship offers. He wasn’t sure how to take the instant fame in recruiting circles.
“Once my recruiting really started picking up in the middle of the summer going into my junior year, I didn’t know what to think of everything. ... It wasn’t overwhelming, though,” Smith said. “All the attention from colleges was a great blessing that I received. This is what I dreamed about growing up, so I couldn’t deny it. I was happy to have the experience of being recruited.”
After a furious start, Smith’s recruiting slowed down the past few months. After attending a camp in April, Smith maintained a low profile, passing on numerous all-star combines and college camps in order to prepare for his senior season.
“It’s just that I wanted to enjoy my last year with my high school team and teammates, and get the most out of it,” Smith said. “I know this is going to be a special year for our team, so I wanted to stay 100 percent into it.”
Smith will play both ways again for St. Pius, starting at tailback on offense and at a new position on defense. He was switched from cornerback to safety.
“We’ve got him at safety because he tackles so well,” Standard said. “Not only is he a cover guy, he has the ability to make tackles. He’ll be a cornerback in college, but he’s a safety for us. He’s the last man standing between the other team and our end zone. He’s the guy I want back there, I can tell you that.”
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