West Charlotte (N.C.) linebacker Jaden Smith (6-3, 201) has committed to Kentucky after being granted his release from his National Letter of Intent at Michigan. Smith had been pursued by the likes of Auburn, Florida State, Miami, NC State, USC, and Virginia Tech as well.
The Charlotte native elected to re-open his recruitment following the departure of Michigan head coach John Harbaugh, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and linebackers coach Charlie Partridge. UK was one of the first schools to jump into the fray after having a prior relationship with the linebacker dating back to their offer in March. Defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Brad White and defensive backs coach Chris Collins played key roles in his decision.
When CatsPause.com spoke to him shortly after his offer in March, he shared that he was running around his house excitedly with his cellphone on mute after UK offered. Collins had done a good job cultivating a relationship with him to that point
“I like coach Collins. He will check up on me every once in awhile,” Smith told CatsPause.com. “He will hit up my mentor and make sure we are still coming up. I have a good relationship with him. It has been a good time getting to talk to him. First, he will talk about how my day went and what I did. Then, we will talk about me coming up there and start talking about other things really.”
West Charlotte head coach Sam Greiner had the following to say about his star pupil when he signed with the Wolverines in December
