4-star DL Nigel Smith II sets Texas Tech visit

Melissa (Texas) four-star defensive lineman Nigel Smith II is visiting Texas Tech this weekend. He announced the news over Twitter Friday afternoon.

Smith II is the No. 54 overall prospect and No. 8 defensive lineman in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 9 player in Texas.

Tech this weekend! #GunsUp

— Nigel Smith (@NigelSmith_25) March 3, 2023

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound defender released his top 16 schools on Feb. 7. The Red Raiders made that list.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Oklahoma has a commanding lead for Smith II’s commitment at 74.9%.

“Before we went down, Coach (Miguel) Chavis and (Todd) Bates sent over their defense,” Smith II told On3’s Sam Spiegelman about the Sooners on Feb. 2. “They had me send in my what defensive calls were and they compared them to what they call it. They said if I were to go there, they’d make a whole package of their calls, what I call them, and combine them. It was good to sit down and talk about that. We talked about that and as we got deeper, how they see me playing for them, what guys they see me playing like and I enjoyed being with coach (Brent Venables). Coach Chavis and Bates are mind-nixing.”

Smith II visited Oklahoma on Jan. 28. Meanwhile, he visited Oregon a week earlier.

“Coach (Tony) Tuioti, he’s a very good coach,” Smith said. “While I was there, I got to watch a little bit of practice. One thing I liked is that Coach Tuioti and the D-line are doing the same thing we’re doing (at Melissa). When Coach Tuioti came to Melissa, he went over our defense and talked about how we ran it, and he really remembered that when he was explaining the Oregon defense to me.”

The Lone Star State native also has interest in Ohio State.

“I feel very comfortable with them,” Smith II told Matt Parker of Lettermen Row on Feb. 9. “They’re probably one of the schools that I will take an official to, not for sure yet, but they probably will be and that will be in June when I go there.”

Smith II has an On3 NIL Valuation of $130K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.