2021 WVU S Transfer Tykee Smith (UGA: 4/4/21)

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

2021 3rd team All American
AU pushing hard
Has 3 years of eligibility per JLee.

 

[IronMan70 3,277]

3 hours ago, Maverick.AU said:

Excerpt from the article: 

As a sophomore in 2020, Smith was named AP third-team All-American after totaling 61 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, five pass breakups and two interceptions.

Smith, who is 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, has three years of eligibility.

Third team AP-All American as a Soph. and Miller's ex-teammate ? Looks like a real good one. Fingers crossed here.

[ellitor 33,094]

Quote

 

Another WVU transfer DB 'looking hard' at Auburn

Jeffrey Lee • AuburnSports

Senior Editor

@JLeeAURivals

Tykee Smith and Dreshun Miller were big reasons why West Virginia had the No. 1 pass defense in 2020, but neither will return to WVU.

Both entered the transfer portal looking for a fresh start. Miller found his at Auburn, announcing his commitment in February.

Could Smith do the same?

Auburn hopes so.

“Auburn was one of the first schools to hit me up,” Smith said. “They are recruiting me hard.”

Tykee Smith entered the transfer portal Friday, March 26. (WVU Athletics)

Auburn’s pursuit of Smith began March 26, the day of his portal entry. It started with a call from defensive coordinator/safeties coach Derek Mason, with whom Smith was already familiar.

“Me and Coach Mason have had a relationship since he was at Vanderbilt,” Smith said. “He offered me in high school. We have had a good bond since I was in high school, so it was a good time to hear back from him. Coach Mason is a really good dude. He seems like a players coach. ”

Smith also has spoken with coach Bryan Harsin and cornerbacks coach Zac Etheridge.

“I talked to (Etheridge) Sunday and FaceTime’d with (Harsin) when I first got in the portal,” Smith said. “I like both of them. Coach Harsin seems like a good dude. He told me he liked my smile.”

Auburn’s coaches aren’t the only ones recruiting Smith. Miller is working to get his former teammate to be his future teammate.

“I have talked to (Miller) almost every day since he left (WVU),” Smith said. “He’s trying to get me to Auburn with him. He says it would be a great place for me and him to get back together. He said it’s a great situation for me to come in and play.”

Smith is considering it.

“I’m looking hard at Auburn, no doubt,” Smith said. “I’ve never been to Auburn, but the plan right now is to take a virtual visit soon.”

Smith, who is originally from Philadelphia, Pa., has been contacted by several Power-5 schools since entering the portal last week. Notre Dame, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Penn State are just a few of the schools to have shown interest.

Smith plans to listen to each of them.

“I’m setting up Zoom calls now and virtual visits this week and next week, and then I’ll make my decision from there,” Smith said. “I’m going to give everybody a chance to show me what they’ve got before I make my decision.”

As a sophomore in 2020, Smith was named AP third-team All-American after totaling 61 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, five pass breakups and two interceptions.

Smith, who is 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, has three years of eligibility.

 

 

[Beaker 2,457]

1 minute ago, IronMan70 said:

Looks like a real good one. Three years of eligibility left, 3rd team AP-All American as a Sophomore and Miller's teammate. Fingers crossed on this one. 

At what point if we stack one room full of transfers and great players, when does that shut down the pipeline of incoming recruits?

 

It's a fine line to walk and sell for the coaches, I guess.

 

I don't know what our safety depth looks like and yes, I read he has 3 yrs left.

 

 

[ellitor 33,094]

7 minutes ago, Beaker said:

At what point if we stack one room full of transfers and great players, when does that shut down the pipeline of incoming recruits?

 

It's a fine line to walk and sell for the coaches, I guess.

 

I don't know what our safety depth looks like and yes, I read he has 3 yrs left.

 

 

@Beaker The plan has always been to add a transfer S should the staff find one they like.

[Beaker 2,457]

16 minutes ago, ellitor said:

@Beaker The plan has always been to add a transfer S should the staff find one they like.

Still a tough selling point I imagine to a recruit in HS, but  this WVU cat  would be one to grab.  

[IronMan70 3,277]

37 minutes ago, Beaker said:

At what point if we stack one room full of transfers and great players, when does that shut down the pipeline of incoming recruits?

It's a fine line to walk and sell for the coaches, I guess.

I don't know what our safety depth looks like and yes, I read he has 3 yrs left.

 

 

If there is one, I don't know when you cross the line that will shut down the pipeline. Looking around it seems that if a program is already attracting great upperclass players and producing the wins, then other great players from HS will want to be a part of that. But, who knows. Personally, I don't think you can sign enough good players and this guy looks like a really good one. 

[bigbird 60,534]

1 hour ago, Beaker said:

I don't know what our safety depth looks like and yes, I read he has 3 yrs left.

 

 

Better than a couple years ago, but not great.  Tennison and Thompson will most likely be the next wave after Smoke. You can never have enough competition and having a legit 2-deep is more than necessary nowadays.

[mcgufcm 4,100]

Still think Eric Reed was a Safety from the get-go. I never understood playing him at CB. I was glad to hear the new staff was moving him back. I think he's a talented guy who will develop back there, but I don't think he has the raw speed to play every down in man coverage like we were asking him to do.

I'm still hoping we get something out of Zion Puckett. He seems like a guy with a world of talent but a true tweener in a way that we haven't found a way to use. He's a LB-type Safety. Given Mason's statement that everyone in the secondary must be able to cover, I wonder if we'll ask Zion to beef up a little and move down, like Herring did.

[AuburnNTexas 7,149]

With 3 years of eligibility it is almost like getting a HS player but in this case one who has proven he can play as an elite Safety as the collegiate level. He would be a great pickup. 

If we can do with safety's like what we have done with D-Line in the past where we rotate quality players to keep them fresh while also letting the younger players get the experience they need while working with the current players I think that will help with recruiting.

[bigbird 60,534]

1 hour ago, mcgufcm said:

Still think Eric Reed was a Safety from the get-go. I never understood playing him at CB. I was glad to hear the new staff was moving him back. I think he's a talented guy who will develop back there, but I don't think he has the raw speed to play every down in man coverage like we were asking him to do.

I'm still hoping we get something out of Zion Puckett. He seems like a guy with a world of talent but a true tweener in a way that we haven't found a way to use. He's a LB-type Safety. Given Mason's statement that everyone in the secondary must be able to cover, I wonder if we'll ask Zion to beef up a little and move down, like Herring did.

Both ER and ZP are sleepers to me too.

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

3 rd team AA transfer sounds pretty dang good . Wow let’s get him 

[AUGoo 2,664]

What's going on at WVU to lose these stud DBs?

[ellitor 33,094]

56 minutes ago, AUGoo said:

What's going on at WVU to lose these stud DBs?

@AUGoo DB coach left.

[WFE12 9,191]

Good relationship with Mason and former teammate recruiting. Come on down * Bob Barker voice *

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

This is like getting an 8 star in recruiting. Shows masons ability to attract secondary talent 

[Mikey 16,605]

I haven't been diligent about counting this cycle, but I'm thinking we have two or three slots left on our annual limit of 25. According to some of our resident gurus the O-line was supposed to be hurtin' the worst. I wonder if the staff feels that they don't need much help in that area?

[bigbird 60,534]

16 minutes ago, Mikey said:

 According to some of our resident gurus the O-line was supposed to be hurtin' the worst. I wonder if the staff feels that they don't need much help in that area?

I doubt it...

On 3/22/2021 at 6:02 PM, toddc said:

W0RK TO DO AT OFFENSIVE TACKLE

Bobo acknowledged that there is work to be done at offensive tackle. Alec Jackson and Brodarious Hamm are returning starters. The backups at this point, he said, are Alex Troxell and Brenden Coffey. Kilian Zierer, he said, is also in the mix.

“We're throwing a lot at these guys, from run game to pass game,” Bobo said. “There are definitely things we need to work on. We need to clean up some of our sets in the pass game. We need some competition at the tackle position.“…We've have some guys that have got some length, but we have to get the guys to do the little things right. I don't think we're in a position right now to say ‘Hey, we've got competition right there.’ We're all trying to figure out right from left right now, and the pass sets that Coach (Will) Friend wants. Ultimately, we're going to create some competition and have some competition at that tackle position. But they have to be able to protect at the tackle position, first and foremost. And that's something we'll be working on hard this spring.” this group is going to be pretty formidable,” Mason said. “What we have to do is take it one day at a time.”

 

https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/Auburn-Football-Notebook-Nix-gets-Bobos-attention-Mason-on-defense-162901225/

 

[ellitor 33,094]

2 hours ago, JDUBB4AU said:

This is like getting an 8 star in recruiting. Shows masons ability to attract secondary talent 

@JDUBB4AU we haven’t got him yet. We are battling pretty much every other team in the country.

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

@JDUBB4AU we haven’t got him yet. We are battling pretty much every other team in the country.

After reading my wording on my post . It appears I put the cart before the horse . I hope we land him . Lol geez what a week 

[AUgrad2013 114]

This guy is obviously a very talented player, but do we not have bigger need areas? I think RB, OT, and DT are a bigger need right now, am I wrong?

[ellitor 33,094]

1 hour ago, AUgrad2013 said:

This guy is obviously a very talented player, but do we not have bigger need areas? I think RB, OT, and DT are a bigger need right now, am I wrong?

@AUgrad2013 The new staff has felt since they got here that getting a quality S transfer with experience was important. DT is not seen as big of a need since we are going to be running more sets with 1 DT in the game instead of 2. And when we use 2 we have some guys that can play strongside end as well as the 2nd DT. We still have room to add a RB & OT should the staff find ones they like. As of now though there are no OT in the portal they are particularly high on.

[Mikey 16,605]

19 hours ago, bigbird said:

I doubt it...

 

Of course I had already read that article. What position on this team , or any team doesn't have " work to do" at Spring practice? I do find it interesting that we are fast approaching our limit of 25 and there's no scuttlebutt about O-line being in desperate need of transfers. If we need one or two, I hope we can get one or two but so far there's no indication that the staff is in panic mode over the O-line.  Seems D-back is a larger concern.

Bicknell had the line on the up-swing last season before all the injuries. Council, Hamm, Jackson, Troxell, Zierer to name just some of those who missed multiple games. If all those are going to be ready to go by Fall, we may not need much help there. No doubt they'd like to get an outstanding transfer prospect but that applies to every position on the team.

[aubearcat 2,137]

[bigbird 60,534]

Just now, aubearcat said: