South Carolina is doing its due diligence with quarterback Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park, California. In doing so, Smigiel is becoming more interested in the Gamecocks. Over the last three weeks, USC has gone from not being involved with the highly recruited quarterback to being one of the main players. Head coach Shane Beamer made the first in-person contact with Smigiel (6-4, 220) by visiting with him and his dad, who is also his head coach, on Jan. 17. At the time, Smigiel was committed to Florida State. That’s no longer the case.
On Monday, USC offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula made the next move in the recruiting process for the Gamecocks by making a school visit with Smigiel. “He got to spend almost two and a half hours with Brady,” Coach Smigiel said. “They broke down Brady’s film a little bit. Brady explained to him what he was thinking on plays. Brady really enjoyed it. Sure seems like they are connecting.” So, Beamer and Shula have done all they can do in person with Smigiel on the West Coast. They are now planning to host him for a visit during spring practice in late March
The next step is to go out there and see how they do things,” Coach Smigiel said. “For him to get some time in the room with the quarterbacks and watch some spring ball and go from there. Obviously, South Carolina has shown that he is one of their priorities, and that’s important. Next step is to get out there. He wants to go out there and check that out.” Beamer and Shula, while showing their strong interest in Smigiel, have also been heavily recruiting Jared Davis of Nashville, and he’s set for an official visit in June. Coach Smigiel, a former offensive lineman at Arizona, understands that when it comes to quarterback recruiting, coaches can’t afford to put all their eggs in one basket. “You can’t expect teams just to recruit one guy. That’s just part of it,” Coach Smigiel said. “The best thing about the recruitment with South Carolina so far is that I truly believe they are being transparent, and so are we.”
The Smigiels will visit Washington on March 7 and 8 and will be at South Carolina in late March, with the exact date still to be determined. Coach Smigiel said those are the only certain spring visits at this point. Auburn also looks good for a visit. Michigan is a maybe. Those four schools, he said, are in a good place with his son right now if he decides to make a decision following the spring visits. “I think he would if it just felt right,” Coach Smigiel said. “The last thing he ever wanted to do was decommit from anywhere. It really beat him up that he had to do that. That’s the type of kid he is. He’s a very loyal kid. He has to understand, just being a kid, this is just how it works. For better or for worse, this is how it works. Changes are going to happen. I think he wants to put himself in the best position possible so that he doesn’t have to do that again.” Along with the visit from Shula on Monday, UCLA also was in. Tuesday brought visits from Alabama and Arizona. Auburn is scheduled to be in on Wednesday and Michigan on Thursday.
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