Get to know Texas signee Tyanthony Smith on national signing day
Whether you’re a diehard recruiting fan in need of a refresher or a casual fan in need of only the particulars, this will be the series for you.
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The first national signing day for college football begins December 20 and runs through December 22. This series gives you the chance to familiarize yourself with the next class charged with keeping Texas in a position of national prominence.
To win at a consistently high level means stacking talented class after talented class. The top-five 2024 class does just that following top-five finishes in the 2022 and 2023 classes.
On the first national signing day, Inside Texas will offer profiles of each member of the 2024 signing class. Up next, Tyanthony Smith.
The Player: Tyanthony Smith, LB, Jasper (Texas)
The Rating: 89.69 (four-star)
The Ranking: Smith is the No. 350 overall prospect, the No. 31 linebacker, and the No. 55 player in the state of Texas in the On3 Industry Ranking. On3 ranks Smith as the No. 26 linebacker and the No. 54 player in Texas
The Highlights:
The Recruitment: Texas knew the 2024 linebacker class would be light in numbers, and Smith was one of the players Jeff Choate and company focused on as the cycle continued. A number of suitors from around the country were recruiting Smith into June including Texas A&M and USC. Smith and family couldn’t find a weekend to officially visit Texas then, and as a result the Longhorns lagged in the pursuit. Smith chose A&M, but when the Aggies’ season crumbled and Steve Sarkisian and company amped up their pursuit, Smith followed in the footsteps of Hill to join the Longhorns’ 2024 class.
The Projection: Tyanthony Smith is clearly an inside linebacker prospect, that’s the easiest part of the evaluation. He’s currently 6-foot-1, 205 or so, similar to fellow East Texas linebacker prospects Nick Martin (Oklahoma State, 133 tackles in 2023) who was 6-foot-0, 195 coming out of Pleasant Grove or Kip Lewis (Oklahoma, 59 tackles in 2023) who was 6-foot-1, 200 coming out of Carthage.
Smith is blazing fast, reacts quickly to what’s in front of him, and runs through contact much like those other two promising young East Texas linebackers. The difference between Mike and Will linebacker is not massive in Texas’ defense. The Mike has to cover in space more but they both have to read flow inside and blitz inside or on the edge. Smith is really fluid going backwards in coverage and appears to have a leadership role in the Jasper defense so he’ll probably end up a Mike before he’s done. In the meantime he’d need to fill out his frame and learn how to apply his fast reactions within the Texas scheme. – Ian Boyd
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The Final Word: Another year, another Aggie flip at linebacker. Smith brings athleticism needed to play linebacker against the variety of offenses seen in the SEC.
