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Profile
Kyle Smith is a 6’3”, 215 pound inside linebacker from Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, CA. He is rated as a consensus 3-star recruit.
Smith received 7 total offers, including schools such as Nebraska and Oregon. He committed to Cal in July of 2018 before fulfilling his commitment by signing on Early Signing Day.
Smith had a fantastic high school career in which he made 410 tackles in 31 games. He had 32 tackles for loss, 25 quarterback hurries, and five forced fumbles. After a strong sophomore season, he improved and had an even better junior campaign. However, he unfortunately battled injuries in his senior year that caused him to be limited and only play in seven games.
According to 247Sports, Smith runs 4.92 40-yard dash and a 4.32 20-yard shuttle and also posted a 34.1” vertical leap. The 40-yard time isn’t great, but the shuttle and the vertical leap are very good numbers for his position.
Now let’s look at the tape and see what he can bring to the table.
Scouting Report
Even though he was limited by injury, we will still be looking at Smith’s senior season highlights because there still was enough film to analyze him with.
When looking at the tape, it is very easy to see why Cal likes Smith. First of all, he looks really quick on tape. He has great instincts in following the ball-carrier out of the backfield and gains ground quickly. He also looks like a solid tackler.
It is obvious that Smith is a good football player and one that fits the Cal mentality. The only question now is where he fits in. He was an inside linebacker in high school, but currently at 215 pounds does not have the size to play the position for Cal. It will be interesting to see if he ends up moving to outside linebacker despite being listed as an inside linebacker on the Cal roster. Even if he does end up as an outside linebacker, he will still have to put on weight regardless.
All in all this is a guy who looks very promising. I can certainly see him being a very valuable rotational player in a couple of years, and a possible starter down the road if he puts on more weight. Either way, I think he is a redshirt candidate for the upcoming season.