Coach Sam Greiner is proud of the academic work UK signee Jaden Smith, a one-time Michigan commit/signee, has done to meet NCAA eligibility requirements.
Linebacker Jaden Smith of Charlotte is a unique four-star prospect who signed with national champion Michigan, changed his mind after half the coaching staff left for the NFL and signed with Kentucky last month.
The 6-3, 205-pound Smith has “muscles galore” and pound-for-pound is one of the strongest players West Charlotte High School coach Sam Greiner has ever had. However, Greiner is proud of his star player for more than just his athletic feats even though he had 91 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 14 quarterback hurries, 13 pass breakups, three blocked punts, two blocked field goals, two fumble recoveries, one interception and two defensive touchdowns last season.
“Next year’s college freshmen class had a difficult time academically because their first year of high school was the COVID year. Everything was online. They were not getting personal relationships with teachers a lot of that year. A lot of schools didn’t even require a 2.0 GPA to play because of COVID. You just had to pass the class,” Greiner said.
“They might also have had to watch over younger siblings while the parents were working. To ask a kid to get on Zoom and at the same time watch his brothers and sisters while he’s trying to learn is almost impossible.”
That led to low grade-point averages for some athletes, including Smith.
“He had some academic work to do and he got a 3.5 and 4.0 (GPA) the last two semesters to pull up his GPA,” Greiner said. “He got tutoring and took ownership of his situation. He had a low GPA but I am so proud of what he has done academically his junior and senior years.
“He didn’t complain. He went in hard on his academics. That’s why he stayed through the spring (semester) to make sure his GPA meets NCAA requirements. Not everybody had a great situation where they could just get on Zoom and only do school work.
“That attitude and work ethic to raise his GPA is exactly like the dedication he has to make himself a better player. He’s a very unique talent and a great fit for the Kentucky defense.”
4 Responses
Looking forward to seei him on the field this fall.
I think he has josh Allen vibes. He is a very hard worker. He will fit in well at kentucky. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played some backup minutes this year. Maybe a all sec freshman candidate. We will be a bowl team every year and every 2 years we will have a great team. I call for 9 wins this year and with a bowl victory we can have a 10 win season. If we force more turnovers which I think we will be excellent at this year we could sneak into the SEC Championship I call a surprise win at texas. We will welcome them to the SEC I call Texas to only win 8 games and the same for Oklahoma.. They will see what its like to play in the most athletic conference in football.
This kid is a great leader his achievements on and off the field should rub off on every kid that’s coming behind him from West Charlotte High School and that’s the best part about having top-tier student athletes!
Let’s don’t get ahead of ourselves – MIZZO joined SEC and won the East twice. And MIZZO ain’t OU or UT ( the burnt orange ones ).
Comments are closed.