University of Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino was first to extended a scholarship offer sophomore quarterback Grant Smith while at Texas A&M, and he was quick to offer Smith after arriving in Fayetteville.
Petrino was officially announced to join Coach Sam Pittman’s staff on Nov. 29, and on Dec. 6, he gave a scholarship offer to Smith.
Smith, 6-3, 206 pounds, of Spring (Texas) Grand Oaks, also had offers from Baylor and TCU prior his one from the Hogs. Texas Tech extended an offer Thursday.
He planned to visit Fayetteville on Saturday but now plans to visit for the Jan. 27 Junior Day.
“First off, I want to catch up with Coach Petrino,” Smith said. “He’s got a great mind and I’m just excited to meet with him again because I haven’t seen him since he’s out at A&M and also Coach Pittman. It will be nice finally meeting him. I’ve heard a ton of great things about him. I know he has a big family base and I know everyone at Arkansas right now is all very close, so I’m excited to see him and then talk with him.”
He and Petrino have been talking on the phone and during visits to College Station since March.
“We talked a lot on the phone and also on my visits there, we always talked and we always had a great conversation,” Smith said. “Long lasting, too. Like probably an hour or so. Just talking about football, talking about life. He wants to get to know me well. I love that.”
Even while at Texas A&M, Smith said he could tell Petrino had a strong fondness for Fayetteville and Arkansas from his time as head coach of the Razorbacks in 2008-11.
“He always told me how pretty the town was and just how amazing it was,” said Smith, whose father played linebacker at Sam Houston State in the 1990s. “You could even tell he was kind of favoring Arkansas over A&M. … I’m ready to be able to experience it on my own.
“He always talked about Arkansas and Fayetteville. I thought it was so amazing. I thought now with where he ended up, I think that’s awesome for him and his family. Closer to his grandkids too, which I know is a big part of his life.”
Smith completed 87 of 142 passes for 977 yards and 5 touchdowns in the first five games of his sophomore season. He missed the rest of the season with a broken clavicle in his non-throwing shoulder.
CBS Sports Network national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming met with Smith and more than 100 other top prospects in Texas in December.
“Very impressive kid in person and on film,” said Lemming, who rates Smith a 4-star plus recruit. “Team leader with good height, excellent fundamentals, arm strength and overall athletic ability. Tremendous work ethic and loves to play the game. He’s going to be a good one. I saw over 100 kids in Texas during the 10 days I was there, he was definitely one of the more impressive kids.”
Smith said he respects Petrino’s knowledge of the game.
“First off, he’s well-spoken and you can just tell he’s very knowledgeable, and I think just watching his game and watching what he did at even A&M is just amazing,” Smith said. “When he got the keys to the car I like to say and he’s calling his own plays, you could just see how much of a difference it made in the game.”
Smith’s excellence on the football field bleeds over to the classroom.
“I’m naturally-gifted, I guess, because I’m not even a big studier,” said Smith, who has a 4.7 grade-point average. “When I get to tests, I just know everything, so I think I have pretty good memory too, and I also think that translates to the field. So it’s a good bonus, a good helper, I guess.”
That also translates to having a high Football IQ.
“I think I can read a defense very well and I think that’s one of the main things you need but you also need to be able to know your receivers, know what the defense is trying to do and just attack the spots they’re weak in,” he said.
When he gets to college, Smith said he hopes to get a degree that will help him stay in football.
“Growing up, I always wanted to get into sports marketing or sports entertainment,” Smith said. “Be like an NFL GM or a coach even. That would be awesome. I just want to work around football because football is big part of my life.”
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
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