Jaden Smith readily admits “I honestly didn’t know who Montana State was before they hit me up”. But hearing the perspective of an all-time great Bobcat on his life-changing move from Texas to Montana sold Smith on MSU.
The 6-foot-6, 195-pound wide receiver from Kennedale High in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area first heard about Montana State from Montana State running backs’ coach DeNarius McGhee, himself a native of Euless, Texas. McGhee came to Montana State as part of Rob Ash’s vaunted 2009 recruiting class, a group of prospects that went on to lead the Bobcats to three straight Big Sky Conference championships and three appearances in the FCS playoffs.
McGhee earned Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2010 and 2012 while becoming one of only 14 quarterbacks in the history of college football to throw for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in his career. Now McGhee is Jeff Choate’s primary Texas recruiter.
“And hearing his story of how he came from Texas and he went up there by himself and he matured and loved everything about it up there,” Smith said. “It’s great football, they have a great atmosphere for him and he got his education. That’s really all I’m looking for: somewhere to go ball, have a great time and get my education while I’m doing those two things.”
Smith and running back DeMareus Hosey of Northwest High in Fort Worth signed with Montana State with the opening of the early signing period on Wednesday. Following the graduation of defensive tackle Zach Wright and tight end Curtis Amos, MSU will have four players currently from Texas on its roster.
During McGhee’s days, more than 20 players from the Lone Star State played for the Bobcats.
“That’s something special, something you can’t take for granted that they came from all the way from up there, noticed our talent in a state with so many different athletes,” Smith said. “That says a lot and I’m thankful for that.”
Choate, who is entering his fourth season at MSU, helped recruit Texas during his time as an assistant at Boise State, Washington and Florida. Now he has a coach on his staff with major credibility in the Lone Star State, particularly in the Dallas metroplex.
During his time at Trinity High north of Dallas, McGhee helped lead the Trojans to the Texas 6A state championship. He continued to win at MSU, ending his career with 37 victories, the most by any quarterback at MSU.
“And when he sits down with a young man and their family and tells the story about how he came from there and this was his experience at Montana State, that’s clearly an added bonus,” Choate said on Wednesday.
The athletic, smooth Smith could be a real bonus for the Bobcats. The standout basketball player and outside receiver caught 42 passes for 748 yards and 10 touchdowns over the last two seasons. But that only tells part of the story, Choate said.
“I think he was a little bit of a sleeper, honestly because of the style they played in high school,” Choate said. “They are a triple option attack at Kennedale so he didn’t get targeted a lot. He may not have had the numbers that a lot of big-time receivers had but this kid is a big-time receiver. He can go and get it. He’s going to be a great red-zone threat for us.
“He’s a guy to keep an eye on for a guy who might be able to come in and play early for us.”
As a starter on one of the top Texas 4A basketball teams in the state, Smith has been a standout for a 16-1 squad so far this season. He is averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds. He is shooting 57 percent from the floor.
“I feel like I’m more of a natural basketball player,” Smith said. “Football took more effort to be good at. Basketball is fun but I probably won’t do it anymore after this year. I’ll probably just stick to football in college.”
That versatility helped Smith earn offers from Navy, Seton Hall and Howard. He also received strong interest from Texas Tech and Utah State, solid interest from Houston, SMU, North Texas, Tulane, Iowa State, Utah and Texas State. He made unofficial visits to TCU and Arkansas. He came up to Bozeman for the first time in July and knew it was the right fit for him.
“I loved everything about Montana from the people to the food to the coaches, the students that I got a chance to talk to, players on the team, the academic counselor, even people just the normal citizens,” said Smith, who plans to major in Business at MSU. “Some people didn’t even know I had an offer or anything and they came and interacted with me, hoping that I would be a Bobcat. That atmosphere out there, it wasn’t even football season but you still had people talking about Montana State football.”
The last month has been busy around the Smith household. Jaden’s younger brother celebrated his birthday in early December and Jaden turned 18 just days before signing with the Bobcats. In January, he will make his official visit to Montana State. Until then, he’ll enjoy the satisfaction of solidifying a dream come true.
“I can’t even explain how I’m feeling inside,” Smith said. “It’s crazy out here. I’m just so ready for the whole process and I’m anticipating it.”
