The halls of Red Bank High School were empty Tuesday morning. Just one day before the holiday break began, most of the students who showed up for class had little motivation to do much beyond making plans for the relaxing days ahead.
Except for Kobe Smith.
All alone in an upstairs weight room, Smith was already 45 minutes into a two-hour workout before noon.
"I figure if I don't work out, somebody else might be out there getting a step ahead of me," Smith said.
It is that work ethic, which also shows up with his relentless style on the football field, that helped Smith earn numerous college scholarship offers. On Wednesday, surrounded by family, coaches and friends, he stayed true to his original commitment to Duke University, made last summer, by signing with the Atlantic Coast Conference program.
"His level of play has always spoken for itself," said Red Bank coach Ted Gatewood. "There's only one speed with Kobe and that's full-speed. He trains that way and plays that way and it's how he approaches everything in life."
Smith committed to Duke last summer and never wavered in that decision despite the Blue Devils undergoing a head coaching change when Mike Elko, who guided the team to a 7-5 season, stepped down to take over the program at Texas A&M in late November. Duke named Manny Diaz — former University of Miami head coach who had spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator at Penn State — as its new head coach on Dec. 9.
"That was pretty stressful, honestly, during the coaching search," said Smith, who is rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com. "It was hectic because I was researching a lot of coaches who were rumored to be taking over during that time. A big part of what helped was my position coach (Harland Bower), who had been recruiting me all along, stayed on the staff and kept me posted. It all worked out how it should."
The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder, who plans to major in business, did not take any visits to other schools.
"When the coaching change happened, Coach Bower and the Duke staff were tremendous in how they communicated," Gatewood said. "Coach Bower came back down for an in-home visit and laid everything out, which made everybody feel a lot more comfortable.
"Kobe and his family approached it in a manner where, once he made his mind up that Duke is where he needed to be, he stayed by that. His level of commitment is a testament to how he was raised and who he is as a person."
Projected to play outside linebacker in college, he chose the Blue Devils over offers from Stanford, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Appalachian State.
As an edge-rushing defensive end for the Lions, Smith made 62 total tackles, including 37 solo stops, nine sacks, seven quarterback pressures, forced four fumbles and also blocked four punts. He finished with 20 sacks in his last two prep seasons and blocked six kicks.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Red Bank's Kobe Smith (12) brings down Anderson County's Daylen Cole (10). Red Bank took on Anderson County at a home playoff game on Friday, November 25, 2022.Olivia Ross
BAYLOR FOURSOME FOLLOW THROUGH
Baylor's four signees also followed through on their commitments made months ago as receiver Amari Jefferson signed with Alabama, tight end Max LeBlanc with Ohio State, quarterback Whit Muschamp with Vanderbilt and defensive back Joshua Hampton with Colgate on Wednesday.
Jefferson, who earlier this week added MaxPreps Tennessee Player of the Year recognition to his Tennessee Titans Mr. Football award, had 1,401 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in helping the Red Raiders return to the Division II-AAA state title game.
LeBlanc finished with 884 receiving yards and 10 TDs and Muschamp threw for 2,983 yards and 40 TDs. Meanhwile, Hampton had 34.5 tackles and two interceptions.
McCALLIE SCORES SIX
Much as he does on the football field, when Carson Gentle sees an opening he doesn't waste time taking advantage. McCallie's two-time all-state defensive lineman — singled out by Blue Tornado coaches for his intensity and leadership traits — became the University of Tennessee's first official signee of the 2024 recruiting class Wednesday morning.
The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder, who had been committed to the Vols longer than any of their signees for this class — he verbally committed in July of 2022, prior to his junior season — signed scholarship papers at 7:01 a.m.
"I have been waiting my whole life to do this, so I did not want to waste another minute," said Gentle, who finished with 73 tackles, including 12 for loss and 2.5 sacks to earn a place as one of three finalists for the Tennessee Titans Mr. Football award. He was also a semifinalist for the award as a junior and finished with three state titles in his four years as a starter.
"It feels great to be able to focus solely on UT and what my role will be," Gentle added. "Part of what Coach (Josh) Heupel talked to me about after I signed was how he expects me to continue being a leader once I arrive. My plan is to be a positive force in the locker room and continue to work hard from day one."
Blue Tornado teammate Jeremy St. Hilaire, a two-year starter at quarterback who threw for more than 2,600 yards and 25 touchdowns this past season, also made his commitment to a Southeastern Conference program official by signing with Vanderbilt.
McCallie also had two more defensive linemen — Olivier Camerlain (Lafayette College) and Paul-Marie Dogui (Colgate University) — sign Wednesday, as well as a pair of offensive linemen — Carson Coffman (Davidson College) and Nathan Berthiaume (Dickinson College).
Those players were part of a core group that helped McCallie claim the Division II-AAA state championship with a thrilling 34-28 win over rival Baylor. In that game, Gentle had a diving seven-yard touchdown reception from St. Hilaire and also finished with a tackle for loss and three quarterback hurries, while St. Hilaire was named the game's MVP after completing 22 of 28 passes for 309 yards and four TDs.
TWO PLUS TWO GIVES BEARS FOUR
As impressive as their numbers were, stats did not tell the full story of how important Kaleb Martin and Tito Williams were to Bradley Central's best season in more than 40 years.
After helping the Bears to a 13-1 season in which they won their first region title since 1980 and reached the semifinals for the first time since 1976, Martin and Williams made their commitments official by signing with FBS programs.
Those two followed a pair of teammates — defensive backs Boo Carter and Marcus Goree Jr., who had already joined Tennessee as early-enrollees last week — to give the Bears a total of four signees.
Martin, who signed with Miami (Ohio), was the leader both on and off the field as the quarterback amassed more than 3,500 yards of offense (2,629 passing) and an incredible 51 total TDs (31 passing, 20 rushing).
"I'm going to compete with everything I do," said Martin, who transferred from Rhea County prior to the season. "I want to be the most competitive person in the room. The Bradley coaching staff coached us about reality and life, not just football, and about hard work and dedication to the game. That's going to help me. I feel like I've got a different mindset just because of this Bradley association."
Williams, who signed with Northwestern, set the defensive tone with 109 tackles, including three for loss, and had two interceptions.
"Right before they started recruiting me there were some locker room issues and they got rid of the coach and brought an interim (David Braun) in," Williams said. "He worked to get them back on track and turned the season around (winning seven games and a spot in the Las Vegas Bowl).
"Coach Braun was the conference Coach of the Year. He flipped the whole program around and I wanted to join them. The future is bright. Our class is strong, so we're going to be making some moves in the future."
MINING FOR MORE GOLD
After helping pave the way for South Pittsburg to claim its seventh Class 1A state title, tight end Martavious Collins signed with the University of Texas-El Paso Wednesday evening. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Collins, whose most noteworthy stats came on the defensive side of the ball for the Pirates — 48 solo tackles, 19 for loss and 5.5 sacks — said the biggest reason for his decision was the strong relationship he had built with new Miners head coach Scotty Walden, who had previously been the head coach at Austin Peay before taking the UTEP job on Dec. 4.
"The decision to go that far away took a lot of thought and prayer, but I told my family after visiting the campus that I felt like it was the right place for me," said Collins, who will enroll in January to be ready for spring practice. "I think I will fit in well with their style of offense and I'm looking forward to getting started."
CALHOUN DUO TO LIBERTY
A pair of Calhoun stars are joining one of the country's fastest-rising programs.
Running back Caden Williams and defensive lineman Kristyane Gregory signed with Liberty University Wednesday. The 13-0 Flames, who just finished their first season in Conference USA by winning the league title, are currently ranked 18th in the nation by the Associated Press and will play Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl New Year's Day.
Williams has started for most of his four years with the Yellow Jackets and registered more than 4,000 yards rushing and 50 touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder had 1,400 total yards and 13 touchdowns this season. He had offers from Georgia Tech, Boston College, East Carolina and Charlotte, among others.
Gregory, 6-4, 265, had 48 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and four sacks for the Jackets this season. Like Williams, he is a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and had multiple offers, including from Troy, Western Kentucky, Memphis, Georgia State and Georgia Southern.
"We are super excited to see what Caden and Kristyane can do at the next level," Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said. "They have contributed a ton to our school and it's great that they are getting to go to one of the hottest programs in the country."
LOCKE HEADED TO CLARKSVILLE
Dalton's Jeffson Locke, a one-time Army commit, signed with Austin Peay Wednesday after having a breakout season for the Catamounts.
Locke, who, along with his brother — current University of Tennessee at Chattanooga freshman Solomon Locke — escaped poverty in Haiti before being adopted and brought to Dalton. The 6-4, 240-pounder was a two-way starter for the 8-4 Catamounts. He registered 126 tackles, 19 for loss and 10 sacks as a rush end while also gaining over 300 yards and scoring two touchdowns as a tight end, where he also amassed 22 pancake blocks.
"Jeffson is certainly a talented young man," Dalton coach Kit Carpenter said. "His mix of size and athletic ability allowed us to play him in multiple positions that greatly contributed to our success on both sides of the ball.
"Austin Peay is not only getting a great tight end, but a heckuva defensive player. He works hard to be the best he can be and that work ethic will make him a great player at Austin Peay."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com; contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ Red Bank (12) Kobe Smith and (7) Caden Loveless block a field goal attempt by DeKalb County (33) Adrian Prater at Red Bank High school on Friday, November 3, 2023.Matt Hamilton