Texas Longhorns football: Could Jake Smith be the next Jordan Shipley?

The Texas Longhorns scored a major recruiting coup when they went into Arizona and snagged receiver Jake Smith.

Smith, the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year, brings a skill set that should immediately mesh with the current receiving staff. While Texas has boasted one of the most physical receiver groups in the country with guys like Colin Johnson and Devin Duvernay, they haven’t had a guy with Smith’s particular set of skills on campus since maybe Jordan Shipley.

Smith amassed over 2,000 yards from scrimmage last year with over 1,000 in both rushing and receiving. He’s a shifty athlete who can play every receiver position in a spread offense, but will most likely come in as a slot guy as a freshman, ready to make an immediate impact.

Smith will be the short-range, soft-handed third-down receiver while also having the ability to take any mundane route to the house on any given play. Look for him to get involved in tunnel screens, reverses and possibly the return game, where he was as lethal as any high school player in the country last year.

Smith is the third Gatorade Player of the Year to sign with Texas, following Lake Travis quarterback Garrett Gilbert and Aledo running back Jonathan Gray. Though neither of those players panned out into superstars for Texas it’s hard to doubt the raw talent both brought with them to the 40 acres.

There will, of course, be a learning curve for Smith, but with what he brings there should be an opportunity for him to earn some early snaps, possibly even start at the slot position so long as he’s able to adapt to the college level quickly.

With Johnson demanding a ton of attention on the outside, that could spell some great opportunities to showcase what Smith can do with the ball in his hands early and often.