Hard work pays off for Kobe Smith, officially joins USC roster

A South Carolina defensive front that has had its share of problems the past two season should get a major boost in 2016 with the addition of defensive tackle Kobe Smith of Lawrenceville, Ga.

Smith (6-4, 295) arrived at South Carolina on Friday to begin his spring semester classes. The athletic department made it official with an announcement late in the afternoon.

He will allow him to go through spring practice and get a jump on preparation for next season.

“They are going to get a real good defensive lineman,” said Archer High coach Andy Dyer. “To his credit, he has worked extremely hard and has gotten better every year. He had a great senior year. His senior year was his best year, which is how you want it to happen. He did a great job of continuing to work and get better. We are super proud of him.”

With his size and strength, Smith should be a defensive tackle who can plug inside running lanes, plus provide an up-the-field pass rush in the face of the quarterback. His coach expects Smith to do just that in the SEC.

“He’s got really good feet for a big boy and my defensive line coach did a really good job getting him to use his hands,” Dyer said. “He was a force for people to deal with. I think right now he’s going to be a good run guy, but he’s savvy enough that he knows how to get off blocks and put pressure on the quarterback.”

Smith is one of six high school prospects to enroll at USC this month.

New coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson recruited Smith when they were at Auburn. When Smith decommitted from Kentucky last month, Muschamp quickly offered and got the Gamecocks in a position of strength with Smith. Smith also was once committed to N.C. State.

Coaches will be hitting up Archer strong again this year because of two major prospects the school has in defensive back Jamyest Williams and linebacker Quinton Miller.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 10:46 AM.