Nebraska Target Brashard Smith Decommits From Florida
The University of Nebraska football team recently secured the commitment of one Florida-based prospect. Now another one of their targets, Brashard Smith, has announced he’s no longer committed to the Florida Gators.
The wide receiver prospect told head coach Dan Mullen he was reopening his recruiting on Friday morning, according to 247Sports. He did make it clear the decommitment didn’t mean he was leaving the Gators completely in the dust. He said he still loves the school and will be considering them moving forward. He simply wants to see what else might be out there.
If Nebraska is going to have a chance to get its foot in the door for the recent free agent, it appears there is going to be some tough competition from the Miami Hurricanes. The ‘Canes never stopped recruiting Smith, even after he pulled the trigger for Florida. He was even in attendance for Miami’s Junior Day in January, just weeks after committing to the Gators.
Smith also recently told the outlet there are at least four SEC schools pushing hard for his services. Those programs include Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and Georgia. While the recruiting site has Smith rated as just a 3-star prospect, it’s clear he’s getting a ton of attention from major schools. He’s got a total of 28 offers, and that number is only increasing since 2020 started.
While Smith is listed as an all-purpose back and the fourth-rated player at his position in the 2021 class, he’s projected by recruiting analysts as more of a wide receiver only in the college ranks. Nebraska has experience with these kinds of players and has had success reeling them in. One of the Big Ten’s best freshman in 2019, Wan’Dale Robinson, came to Nebraska as a talented all-purpose back.
Scott Frost and company had thought Robinson would line up almost exclusively as a receiver in his first season, but depth issues at running back saw him with plenty of carries. If Smith has an interest in getting catches and carries at running back, the Huskers could use what they did with Robinson as a template for the recruit.
Last season, Smith posted 36 catches for 628 yards and 13 touchdowns while also serving as a weapon for Palmetto High as a kick returner.
Nebraska has another reason to recruit Smith outside of his own talents. He’s also teammates with another Huskers target in 4-star safety Corey Collier. The next step in recruiting Smith will be for Nebraska to attempt to get him on campus when the NCAA allows in-person recruiting again — just when that might be is still an unknown.
