Coach: 'He's very special with the ball in his hands'

There's no secret that South Carolina is looking to add playmakers to it's 2017 class and that's what it appears to have one with the addition of Brunswich (Ga.) three-star wide receiver Shawn Smith Saturday.

The 6-foot, 170-pounder will play receiver for South Carolina, but is the type athlete who can throw it, run it and catch it in high school, according to Brunswick assistant coach Brandon Evans.

"On any given Friday night, he's going to be the fastest guy out there," Evans told Gamecock Central. "He has the ability to make people miss. He's fundamental. He does the little things right. He will wow you in practice, but on Friday nights it's a whole other show. He works hard. He's a kid that can put his foot in the ground one time and then nobody can catch him.

"He doesn't shy away from contact. He will put his shoulder on you. He's one of those where, if this is where I need to get the ball, I'm going to do whatever it is I need to do to get the ball to here, whether it's the end zone or a first down. He's very special with the ball in his hands. They talk about those guys who on any given play can take it to the house, he is one of those guys."

Smith held offers from Auburn, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Miami, Mississippi State, UCF and West Virginia.

Georgia and Miami were schools listed as leaders at one time, but it's former Georgia interim head coach Bryan McClendon, Carolina's co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach, that was the difference, according to Evans.

"He loves Coach McClendon," Evans said. "Georgia was recruiting him. Coach McClendon has been on him [for a while]. He feels a much higher level of comfort with Coach McClendon, is what he said to me. He just loves the coaches. He's known Coach (Bobby) Bentley, who was at Auburn, and Auburn was recruiting him, so obviously that carried over.

"Whenever he called me before he committed, he said he loved the campus, loved the coaches. We went up to Auburn last summer and Coach (Will) Muschamp was there. Coach Muschamp is a great recruiter, he makes you feel comfortable. But I would say Coach McClendon was a big deciding factor."

Evans believes that Smith will be a fit in both the South Carolina program and specifically the offensive scheme.

"He's real, real excited," Evans said. "I think it's a good fit for him, somewhere that's going to run some spread. I went up there this spring for practice and their offense looks similar to what our head coach, coach Larry Harold is doing here. Coach Harold has worked with him, he's supported him, he's done a great job working with him on just doing the little things right, stressing the fundamentals. Shawn has worked hard. And Coach Harold has worked hard on taking the playmaker ability that Shawn has and turn it into a good football player."

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