2022 four-star athlete Octavian Smith Jr. decommitted from Northwestern in September, and he’s close to announcing where he will spend the next four years honing his athletic and academic prowess.
Smith, a 6-foot-0, 170-pound athlete from Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Maryland, has offers from Maryland, Northwestern, Duke, Old Dominion, Pitt, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Kent State, Princeton, Villanova, Air Force, Army, Bowling Green, Georgetown, Massachusetts and Navy. However, he’s narrowed his list of finalists to Penn State, Northwestern, Boston College, Virginia and Maryland.
Top 5 : who’s it gonna’ be? pic.twitter.com/ld9Dqkwcpp
— Octavian C. Smith Jr. (@yeahtay5) December 6, 2021
And while many recruits are talked about having ‘track star’ speed, Smith’s legitimate sprinting background has led to track & field offers from Bucknell, Duquesne and St. Francis.
Smith led Paint Branch to an 8-2 season, racking up 310 passing yards and four touchdowns on 27 completions and rushing for 324 yards and three touchdowns (in the five games with stats published on MaxPreps).
According to 247Sports, Smith is rated as the 210th-ranked recruit in the country, checking in as the eighth-ranked athlete and the fourth-ranked recruit from Maryland. Rivals hasn’t officially ranked Smith, but he has been given a 5.5 Rivals Rating.
Both 247Sports and Rivals have projected that Smith will stay in-state and land with Maryland.
