The COVID-19 pandemic may have put the kybosh on recruits taking visits to the various campuses but thanks to the magic of the Internet that hasn’t kept Maason Smith from getting his first up-close look at Georgia.
During a Zoom interview with Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman, the nation’s No. 1 ranked defensive tackle revealed that he and his mom recently received a virtual tour and came away impressed with what they saw.
“They had Coach (Kirby) Smart, Coach (Dan) Lanning, Coach (Tray) Scott, and because I’m going to be a business major, they had people from the Georgia Way program, and other people who would help me transition from high school to my freshman year in college,” Smith said. “They told my mom that I’d be taken care of, which she really liked, which was really good because they are one of my top schools.”
According to Smith, the call lasted approximately 45 minutes.
“It was really good, I really got the gist of it,” said Smith, who still intends to visit Georgia in person once the campus is open again. Smith had planned to visit UGA on March 21 and told UGASports he was very excited about the trip before it was cancelled.
Smith also includes LSU, Florida, Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida State among his recently-released Top 10.
Smith said the fact that coaches have had to resort to online calls on Zoom has made his recruitment interesting.
“It’s a new thing, like how they’ve had to change up their ways. They can’t see you in person,” Smith said. “But what I don’t like about is I don’t get to visit Georgia right now. But other than that, it’s cool how they’re using virtual techniques with the virtual tours.”
Smith said there’s plenty of good that comes from seeing programs virtually.
“When you’re doing something new, it’s generally going to be harder, and that to me kind of shows me how bad they want you because they can’t see you right now,” Smith said. “You can tell who’s real and who’s fake and that’s just a fact. This (COVID-19) thing was kind of a lesson for me, I think, to show who really values me.”
Smith was intends to take all five of his official visits before announcing his decision during the early signing period in December.
That doesn’t mean he won’t silently commit beforehand.
“I think now I’ll just wait till signing day and shock the world. I might still do a silent thing because I know there’s paperwork and stuff, especially for me being a mid-term grad,” Smith said. “But I don’t really know yet. I’m definitely going to announce on (Early) Signing Day, though. It’s always been my dream to do it on ESPN.”
In the meantime, Smith is doing his best to stay in shape.
Among the ideas, Smith said he’s taken hints from a workout card he received from Georgia coach Scott Cochran, and ironically enough, from an online tip he received watching a workout video posted on Twitter by current Bulldog Nolan Smith.
“He gave them to me like two weeks ago. The crazy thing is, before he gave me any of that I saw Nolan Smith on Twitter doing the push-up thing and running,” Smith said. “He (Cochran) sent me a PDF, just on short-termed goals, and I’ve kind of been filling it out.”
