Tykee Smith Talks Departure From WVU & Which Schools He's Heard From
Last week, West Virginia sophomore safety Tykee Smith shocked everyone by announcing that he would be entering his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
During his two years in a Mountaineer uniform, Smith has tallied 114 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions, 13 pass breakups, and one forced fumble. Smith has only started 17 games in his collegiate career but is quickly becoming one of the most respected defenders in the game.
Why the decision to transfer?
Smith informed me that "It had nothing had to do with the defense or anything like that. I was starting but other things led to it, so I had to make a business decision."
A couple of days ago, WVU head coach Neal Brown said that Smith transferring out wasn't the surprise of the offseason, it was Dreshun Miller's decision to leave.
“It’s a lot like some relationships that I’m sure everyone has been in - it just gets to a point where it’s best for both parties, and that’s kind of where we were,” said Brown. “Nothing negative to say about him and had a really good two years here being productive on the field, and we wish him the best.”
Although Smith didn't get into the details of his decision to move on, it seems like there had been some sort of disagreement between him and the coaching staff. However, from the way each side commented on the transfer, it didn't appear to be an ugly separation. In fact, Smith told Mountaineer Maven that he is going to miss being at WVU and playing at Mountaineer Field.
"I enjoyed the fans on game day and I'm going to miss playing in front of them. But I'm really going to miss the academic and strength staff at WVU. They were very supportive and helped me a lot in those two years."
Since entering the portal, Smith has been hopping on Zoom calls with different schools and has received a ton of interest - even a couple of Big 12 schools. Those that he has heard from include Auburn, Florida, UCF, Houston, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Texas, Texas Tech, Penn State, Indiana, South Carolina, & Georgia Tech.
Smith says he is not at the point of making a decision just yet and that he has a few more Zoom calls to complete before making his move.
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