Michigan football lands another top Charlotte-area recruit, as Jaden Smith commits

Langston Wertz Jr.
·2 min read
West Charlotte High linebacker Jaden Smith

West Charlotte High School linebacker Jaden Smith committed to Michigan on Monday during a live stream on Instagram.

He’s the third Mecklenburg County star to choose the Wolverines in recent weeks, per 247 Sports, following Providence Day quarterback Jadyn Davis and Providence Day wide receiver Channing Goodwin to Ann Arbor.

Smith, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound outside linebacker, helped the Lions to a 7-6 record last season and a third-round N.C. 3A playoff appearance. Smith, who will be a senior this fall, had offers from Charlotte, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Miami and Southern California, among others.

Smith took an official visit to Virginia Tech over the weekend and had narrowed his final choices to Michigan, Southern California, Virginia Tech and Kentucky.

West Charlotte coach Sam Greiner said Smith ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, hand timed, during the Lions’ spring workouts.

“He’s a wheel linebacker at the next level,” Greiner said. “Out of all the guys I’ve ever coached, his ability to ‘bend’ (around offensive lineman while rushing the quarterback) is the best I’ve ever seen. He can literally touch the ground when he makes moves. His shins can scrape the ground. It’s his ability to do that and not lose speed that everybody loves.”

Smith is a three-time all-conference player in the Queen City 3A/4A conference, among the best in North Carolina, but was undersized, something that Greiner felt affected his recruitment. Smith was playing at 178 pounds last fall and hit a growth spurt during the season that changed his recruiting trajectory.

Smith got his first college offer from Charlotte in December, and Greiner said many others followed.

“He’ll be a guy others regret missing on,” Greiner said. “His recruitment was unique. Utah doesn’t recruit our area and really really wanted him bad. (Southern Cal) came in and Michigan came late. Being fast and being stiff is one thing, but to be able to bend and still have that explosion and strength, people can see vision of you being 220 pounds and being a real problem in college. That was the case with Jaden.”