Blue Smith: Ohio State or Kentucky?

DrewFranklinKSR

Kentucky is trending in the wrong direction for its top football target: four-star athlete and wide receiver, L'Christian "Blue" Smith. One of the top prospects in the state of Ohio, Smith is considering Ohio State and Kentucky for his college football career. The Dayton product will announce his commitment to one of those two schools sometime during the weekend of his Wayne High School's season opener, which will be televised on ESPN, at the end of August. Smith has already made up his mind, he told Scout.com's Bill Greene, but he won't give any clues as to which way he is going, only saying several factors went into the decision: If you're to believe the experts who make up his Crystal Ball predictions, Ohio State is in the best position to add Smith to its passing game in the 2018 college football season. The last thirteen predictions have Smith becoming a Buckeye, giving Urban Meyer's program an 82 to 18 percent advantage in the poll.

Kentucky Sports Radio radio listeners have an "expert" of their own in caller Dawson, a Madison Central High School student who befriended Smith and Smith's teammate, UK commit Alex Reigelsperger, on social media. Dawson insists Smith will commit to Kentucky, but his credibility is definitely in question. So who do we trust? The analysts and bloggers who predict Smith to Ohio State? Or do we trust Dawson and his online friendship with Smith and Reigelsperger? Dawson stuck to his guns on Monday when he called in to the show to say, "It might be a 'me against the world'... but I'll stick with it." I won't pretend to know either way because I have had zero meaningful conversations about Smith with anyone. But as a Kentucky football fan, I'm concerned by the latest chatter I've read online, specifically the prediction from Greene. That being said, Greene admitted to the Herald-Leader he simply made an educated guess with no definitive inside information. “He told me nothing, and his dad told me nothing,” Greene said of his conversation with Smith. “So I got no inside info there." The best we can do now is play the "If" game until Smith goes public or any new info leaks out.

If he picks Kentucky... ... Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow can thank Smith's relationships with current and future Wildcats. Alex Reigelsperger (H.S. teammate), Tobias Gilliam (cousin) and Jarren Williams (friend and UK QB of the future) are among the Cats' best player-recruiters. Then there is the opportunity to play wide receiver, the position Smith wants to play in college; as well as Big Blue Nation's relentless support and recruitment of Smith online. He has often mentioned BBN and feeling at home in Lexington in past interviews.

If he picks Ohio State... ... it's because it's Ohio State. When you look at the two programs and the two coaches who run them, they're not even in the same conversation. Ohio State is a perennial title contender with a Hall of Fame head coach, and it's only an hour-drive east of his hometown. It helps that Urban Meyer recently told him he is a wide receiver as of now, which wasn't always the case in past conversations throughout Smith's recruitment.

Regardless of which way Smith goes at the end of the month, it is pretty amazing that the University of Kentucky is in this situation in the first place. Mark Stoops and his staff are in a battle with The Ohio State University for one of the most sought-after playmakers in the entire country. Win or lose, it is uncharted territory for the Kentucky program. But let's hope it is a win and Smith has a long career catchings touchdowns in Lexington. [caption id="attachment_226127" align="alignnone" width="711"]