Pro comparisons may not mean much, especially for high schools, but anyone that gets compared to Julio Jones is immediately going to turn some heads.
The Tennessee Volunteers landed a huge commitment over the weekend, securing 4-star wide receiver Travis Smith out of Westlake High School in Atlanta. On3's Hayes Fawcett released a graphic to announce Smith's commitment.
BREAKING: Four-Star WR Travis Smith Jr. has Committed to Tennessee, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 13, 2024
The 6’4 200 WR from Atlanta, GA chose the Volunteers over Alabama, Georgia, & Auburn
“It’s bout time to bring a natty to Rocky Top🍊”https://t.co/3dAJaXQrav pic.twitter.com/JZhvvuQTlo
Smith chose the Volunteers over the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, and Georgia Bulldogs. It's a bit of surprise, but Smith admitted that it wasn't an easy decision.
“It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” Smith told On3. “At the end of the day, I felt Tennessee fit what I was looking for the best. From offensive productivity to the opportunity to shine in the offense to the scheme and just being in the best position to succeed."
According to On3, Smith trained with former Georgia receiver Terrence Edwards, who was the one willing to compare the 6-foot-3 high schooler to Julio Jones.
"He’s big, fast and powerful like Julio Jones," Edwards explained. "He's the complete package – height, speed and tracking ability."
Smith could have an impact at Tennessee very quickly given his unique skill set. Big-bodied receivers with vertical speed can thrive in Josh Heupel's extremely spread out offensive scheme.
As for the Volunteers, they continue to climb up the recruiting rankings. 247Sports currently has Tennessee with the 11th-ranked recruiting class for 2025. However, that's only good enough to be sixth in the SEC, showing just how dominant the conference is when it comes to recruiting.
Still, if players like Smith can turn into future SEC stars like Julio Jones, it won't really matter where Tennessee's recruiting class ranked before anyone hit the field.
