South Carolina football recruiting profile: Josh Smith
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his coaching staff have just about a month before National Signing Day. (Remember when recruits signed in February?) The Early Signing Period begins Wednesday, December 4th, and the majority of teams’ high school recruiting classes will be completed by the time the Early Signing Period ends on Friday, December 6th. In the weeks leading up to NSD, GamecockCentral will profile each player in the 2025 recruiting class. Today, we will look at the newest commitment, linebacker Josh Smith.
Josh Smith (3-star, Linebacker, 6’2″, 230 pounds)
What the rankings say: 3-star in On3 industry rankings, No. 1319 nationally, No. 25 in South Carolina, No. 127 among all linebackers; three of four major recruiting services rate Josh Smith as a 3-star prospect
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On Tuesday, Dutch Fork High School product Josh Smith committed to the South Carolina football program. The local kid picked up an offer from the Gamecocks late in the process but still elected to stay home. Despite a “low” ranking, Smith has the upside to become a steal in Carolina’s 2025 class.
Smith already has college linebacker size. He’s built almost identically to All-SEC ‘backer Debo Williams, and once he spends some time in a college weight room, he could be a brick house that weighs in around 240 pounds. Several current South Carolina linebackers weigh around 240 pounds in Demetrius Knight, Bam Martin-Scott, Fred “JarR” Johnson, and Mo Kaba.
As a linebacker, Smith plays downhill. He has no qualms about working through contact to make his presence felt. On film, there is no “getting lost in the trash” with Josh Smith. Instead, he knifes past a lot of blockers and runs right through the faces of the others.
Top 10
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CFP Top 25
First College Football Playoff rankings
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PSU over Tennessee
CFP chairman explains decision
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Brand bias
Joel Klatt calls out CFP committee
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CFP bracket
12-team bracket after first CFP Top 25
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Ben Herbstreit
Kirk Herbstreit asks for prayers
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A former EDGE player who moved to linebacker, Smith also will provide the Gamecocks with some get-after-the-quarterback juice as a blitzer. That is very important in defensive coordinator Clayton White’s system.
Part of a large group of linebackers and EDGE players in the class, Smith will have a lot of competition for early playing time. The Gamecocks are losing Debo Williams, Bam Martin-Scott, and Demetrius Knight to graduation. That means some young players will play at the linebacker position in 2025. If things go well for him, Josh Smith could be one of them.
With Smith’s inclusion, South Carolina has eight players committed in the ’25 cycle who the Gamecock coaching staff expects to play linebacker, EDGE, or both. He joins AJ Holloway, Jaquel Holman, Taeshawn Alston, and Donovan Darden as players expected to begin their Gamecock careers at linebacker.
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You can watch some of Josh Smith’s film below.
