USC offers instate DB Chris Smith and is immediate favorite

South Pointe defensive back Chris Smith picked up his biggest offer to date on Tuesday when South Carolina co-defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward contacted his coach and informed him he wanted him for the Gamecocks.

Smith (5-10, 178) also has offers from Old Dominion, Mercer, Furman, Coastal Carolina, Campbell and Gardner-Webb. Those are all good offers, but Smith realizes the USC offer takes his recruiting to another level.

“When they offered me I was like so excited,” Smith said. “I jumped up and said, for real? So, they jumped into the lead.”

Despite his excitement over the offer, the Class of 2016 prospect isn’t ready to jump to a commitment.

“I’m still looking around but maybe later in the season I’ll commit,” he said. “I may wait for the season to play out but it might be earlier. I just don’t know.”

USC, of course, has had quite a run of success with players from the Rock Hill community, and Smith is very familiar with some of the names such as Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman. Beyond that, he’s tried to familiarize himself with the program and the university.

“I heard they have a great education program, for one,” Smith said. “And for two, the defense, if you put the work in, you can come in as a freshman and start.”

Smith has visited Mercer, Louisville and Charlotte and he plans to visit USC once he talks with Ward “to see what the atmosphere is like.”

Last season Smith had 71 tackles with five interceptions. As a receiver he had 10 catches and accounted for 600 all-purpose yards.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 8:45 PM with the headline "USC offers instate DB Chris Smith and is immediate favorite."