Miami’s newest offensive line commit is under radar, but coach says it won’t last long

Antonio Smith was mostly an unknown — even to recruiting enthusiasts — when he announced Sunday he was committing to the Miami Hurricanes. Smith was — and still is — unranked by all the major recruiting services. His offer list was — and still is — relatively slim compared to most of the other offensive linemen committing to college around this time of year.

In Edwin Farmer’s mind, there’s only a matter of time until all this starts to change. Miami, he said, was smart to get out in front.

“Miami’s not the only one that has jumped on him. Florida is real high on him ... Florida State,” said Farmer, Smith’s coach at Ocala Vanguard. “Willie Taggart himself, Dan Mullen himself — both of those guys came right here to see him. All those guys love his physicality. They love what he does on the field.”

The Hurricanes, however, were the first to actually offer the unranked tackle and they parlayed it into an immediate commitment. Smith attended Miami’s junior day in Coral Gables on Sunday and offensive line coach Butch Barry decided to offer Smith a scholarship. Before the day was done, the 6-foot-3, 272-pound junior orally committed to the in-state program.

This came a little more than a week after Smith attended a Florida Gators junior day, and about a month and a half after he attended one of the Florida State Seminoles’. Smith said he grew up admiring the Miami program and seeing the energy on his unofficial visit led him to his pledge despite other early offers from the Auburn Tigers and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

“I grew up loving Miami,” said Smith, who has also played some defensive tackle, “so when they gave me the offer, I considered the offer and I’m a Hurricane.”

Part of his low profile right now rests in his frame, which is far from ideal at the right tackle position he played for Vanguard in 2018. Instead, the Hurricanes envision him playing the interior, which is a better fit for his size and skill set. Right now, Smith is a mauler and said Barry was most impressed by the way he finishes blocks on film.

Smith had been on Miami’s radar for a while before the weekend, too. Not long after joining the Hurricanes as tight ends coach, Stephen Field reached out to Farmer about Smith after seeing his film. There was mutual interest, so Miami worked to bring him down to South Florida for a visit.

As he finished up a workout with Smith shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Farmer, who also coaches weightlifting for the Knights, touted Smith’s credentials. Smith is currently benching about 385, and his clean and jerk sits around 280.

“His work ethic is above the charts. It’s off the charts. It’s running over,” Farmer said Tuesday. “He’s kicking butt. Good footwork. He’s just pretty much doing everything.

“The thing about Antonio, he doesn’t do a lot of talking. He’s not one of those guys out on Twitter. … I really think, you talk about the stars and all those guys already getting all those offers, he’s not one of those guys to get out there and make himself known.”

So what could get him wider recognition?

“My film,” Smith said Tuesday, “speaks for itself.”