Charlie Crawford, center, with her daughter, Karin, and son, Guy, has a close relationship with twins Jerod (99) and Jacob Smith and their family as shown by the photos here contributed by Jerod Smith Sr.
Kentucky’s football recruiting got a huge boost last week when twins Jerod and Jacob Smith of Corbin flipped their commitment from Michigan to the Wildcats.
Both defensive standouts are top 250 players nationally and were fantastic in last week’s win over Frederick Douglass — Jacob had 10 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery while Jerod had seven tackles, including two tackles for loss, and two pass deflections.
They played the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Somerset High School before going to school in Connecticut in 2021 and 2022. They transferred to Corbin for their COVID season and getting back to the Bluegrass gave UK, one of their finalists when they each picked Michigan, to get back into the recruiting picture.
But the move back to Kentucky had nothing to do with collegiate recruiting. Their father, Jerod Sr., shares the story in his own words of what initiated the move back to Kentucky:
“It is not often that a stranger opens his family and house up to strangers. But when trust and a loving supporting bond is built, what once was considered friends can turn into life-long extended family members.
“Jacob, Jerod and Guy, along with a host of other Briar Jumpers, Brodie, Ben, Jessie and many others all worked hard on the gridiron and built an everlasting bond outside of football at Somerset.
“Two families extended their love and kitchen to the twins, and they were there more than they were home. The Williams and the Crawfords became permanent homes for the twins while they attended Somerset High. It wouldn’t be strange for one of the twins to be watching TV with Bart (Williams) on a Sunday, while Brodie was not at home. Nor would it be to find one of the twins at the Crawfords while all of the family members were gone. Both families allowed the twins to come and go at any time and any day.
“Charlie (Crawford) went above and beyond her role as the best friend’s mother. Jerod, Jacob, Guy and Chase, all of them are treated as her boys, and all of them get the love and support that a mother would give to a child.
“Once the boys went off to Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), they decided to visit Somerset every time their parents would allow them to. During the summer, they would get there on the day school let out and would leave in time to spend with their parents and report to a football camp. We had no worries while they were there because we knew Charlie would make sure everything that needed to get done was taken care of.
“When Jerod had physical therapy appointments twice a week, she would take them. When the twins wanted to go on unofficial trips to schools, she loaded up the car and got on the road without hesitation. She took the twins to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Kentucky countless times.
“As a parent, it is hard to allow your children to spend this much time with another family while being so far away. But when you call to check on them, and you hear your high school son having an argument with a junior high school friend you can tell it is just comradely love. You know your boys are with a family that treats your boys like they are their own boys.
“I know the Smith twins will grow old with GB (Guy Bailey, Charlie’s son) and remain best friends forever. And I know Charlie will push the boys as hard as they need to be pushed, and love them as much as they need to be loved.”
