Coming off a weekend trip to Palo Alto to visit Stanford, Belton tight end Durham Smythe is tentatively scheduled to inform college coaches of his decision on Friday, per multiple reports stemming from his father.
After visiting Texas for a spring practice before making the trip out to the West Coast, Smythe appears set to make a decision, even though his family had discussed the possibility of taking more visits following the journey out to Stanford. Apparently Durham and his family have seen enough to now go ahead and commit. Tentatively.
The Longhorns and Cardinal are generally considered to be the leader to attain the services of Smythe, with the Aggies thought to be a rather distant third.
As the 2013 recruiting process has heated up over the last month or so, Smythe has been in high demand, currently holding 13 scholarship offers from around the country. At 6-6 and 230 pounds, it's not hard to understand why, as he has plus athleticism for the position and is a natural pass-catcher Belton uses all over the field to create mismatches.
As a result, Smythe is considered the top pure tight end in the state, making him also the top Texas target at his position, one of the most important in the class after the Longhorns opted not to take a tight end prospect in 2012.
The proximity of Austin to Belton and the fact that David Ash is Smythe's former teammate at Belton and would be his quarterback for his first two years in Austin if the big tight end chooses to become a Longhorn both favor the 'Horns.
As mentioned above, Stanford appears to be the primary competition and while there hasn't been a lot coming out of the Smythe camp regarding how well his visit went, the academics there could play a role, as the elder Smythe is a doctor and his son reportedly has similar aspirations.
In terms of schematic fit, Stanford is rapidly developing a reputation for both using and developing tight ends and H-backs. But Texas co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin has some experience there as well and puts a bit more emphasis on the passing game, which may better take advantage of Smythe's abilities there, the single skill at this time that is making him so highly coveted.
At this point, it's difficult to say whether one school or the other has the edge, but Texas has been considered the favorite throughout most of the process, as relatively short as it has been.
On Twitter Monday, 2013 class leader Jake Raulerson asked Smythe if he wanted to become the baker's dozen commit in the class. On Friday, Raulerson and Texas fans should find out the answer.