Brown goes to old stomping grounds for 1st 2020 recruit

Smith, who had offers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Duke, Louisville, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and others in addition to West Virginia, quickly became a Mountaineer target after Brown was hired by WVU on Jan. 5. Smith was offered a scholarship by West Virginia one day after Brown arrived in Morgantown, and he took an unofficial visit to the WVU campus a couple weeks later. Now Smith has decided to pull the trigger and verbally commit to Brown’s Mountaineers. Currently a junior at Boyle County High, Smith won’t be able to sign his National Letter of Intent until Dec. 18.

The past season, Smith caught 53 passes for 1,173 yards and 20 touchdowns. A two-way standout, he also was an outstanding safety, where he had 50 tackles, two forced fumbles and three interceptions, one of which he returned 99 yards for a TD. As a sophomore, Smith had 50 receptions for 1,041 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also recording 40 tackles and nine interceptions on defense.

Smith was named first-team Class 3A all-state as both a sophomore and a junior.

“Outstanding athlete and great on both sides of the ball,” Boyle County head coach Chuck Smith told the Louisville Courier-Journal of Reese, who is no relation to his coach. “His ball skills are incredible. He catches anything close to him, and he is a ball hawk on defense. He loves the big games and plays his best when there is pressure on him.”

Boyle County finished the 2017 season with a 14-1 record and won the Kentucky Class 3A state championship. In 2018, the Rebels took a 13-0 record into the class 3A semifinals before it fell to Corbin, 21-0.

Smith is also an excellent basketball player for Boyle County. The junior, who was recently named the coaches’ all-Region 12 team, has already scored more than 1,000 points in his career.

Brown’s recruiting trips back to Kentucky won’t end with the commitment by Smith. Boyle County running Landen Bartleson also has an offer from WVU, as does Lexington Catholic quarterback Beau Allen.