Four-Star Michigan Commits Jacob and Jerod Smith Will Play at Corbin This Season if There are No Eligibility Issues

Four-star twins Jacob and Jerod Smith -- with their parents -- could be playing at Corbin High School this season.

Twin brothers Jacob and Jerod Smith, both University of Michigan football commits, have enrolled at Corbin High School but it is not “official” yet that they will play for the Redounds this season.

Instead, their father, Jerod Smith Sr., says they are waiting to make sure all academic and eligibility requirements are approved. The twins started practicing with the team last week. They played at Somerset in 2019 and 2020 before going to prep school in Connecticut the last two years.

They left Somerset for Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., in 2021 and opted to repeat their sophomore year — something Kentucky students were also given the option to do because of COVID.

“If they are eligible, they will play for Corbin,” Jerod Smith Sr. said. “I do not know if we had to sign a waiver (to repeat the sophomore season) or not. If they (Kentucky High School Athletic Association) say they are granted a fifth year.

The brothers are both high four-star recruits who had about 30 high level offers before they both picked Michigan. Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and Kentucky were finalists for both players.

Jerod is a 6-3, 265-pound defensive lineman and Jacob is a 6-4, 239-pound outside linebacker. If they play at Corbin, they would likely be ranked behind only Lexington Christian Academy quarterback Cutter Boley, a UK commit, in the individual player recruiting rankings in Kentucky.

“Every extended break the boys would go back home to Somerset to hang out with high school friends. Their best friend, Guy Bailey, was always trying to get them to stay,” Jerod Smith Sr. said. “Last year they (the brothers) asked us to stay and we said no. This year they asked and my wife and she said maybe it would be a good idea.”

Jerod Smith Sr. still has about another 1 1/2 years to complete his military career.

The twins certainly would join a team capable of competing for a state championship again. Corbin was 14-1 last year with the only loss coming to Boyle County in the Class 4A state title game 32-26.

Quarterback Kade Elam was 158 of 219 passing for 2,455 yards and 33 scores and ran for 520 yards and 14 scores as a sophomore in 2022. Carter Stewart is back after making  53 catches for 1,065 yards and nine scores as a junior in 2022 and tight end Eli Pietrowski, one of the state’s best freshmen in 2022, had 22 catches for 317 yards and four scores last season.

Bailey has also transferred to Corbin after running for 1,388 yards and 15 scores in 12 games for Somerset last year and he also had 18 catches for 216 yards and another touchdown.

Corbin will play at Lexington Catholic Sept. 1 and host Frederick Douglass Sept. 15.

“Jerod wants to come home and play against Douglass and play Boyle County (in the state playoffs),” Jerod Smith Sr. said. “They walked through the competition in the northeast. It was not a challenge to them. They are excited about this move because the competition they have been playing is nowhere close to what they will have at home. The education was top notch but they would rather play with Guy. They love the facilities and people at Corbin.”

The father knows his sons’ potential transfer has created a buzz in the Bluegrass. He says their former teammates at Somerset are glad they are coming back but some adults have been critical on social media.

“We just want to make sure we do everything the right way and everything is okay. We don’t want to get to midseason and find out something is wrong. So I just told Corbin before they are officially coming we have to make sure everything is okay,” Jerod Smith Sr. said.

He was not surprised his sons opted to play together in college even though Jerod announced his college choice before Jacob.

“Jacob wants to play with his brother. They are better together than apart and they didn’t want that to change in college,” the father said.