Five visits, decision to follow for Smith

The road trip is about to begin for Georgia wing Tanner Smith. The three-star prospect from Wesleyan High School has a busy slate ahead of him and a target time to make his college decision.

Smith told Rivals.com that he will take all five official visits before making his decision in early fall.

He and his parents will trip to Clemson this weekend for the first official visit of the season. Smith said he has already been to the ACC program before and looks forward to seeing what the Tigers have to offer.

"So far they've been nothing but nice," Smith said of the Clemson staff. "Coach (Shaka) Smart has been recruiting me and coach (Oliver) Purnell is just a great guy, too. It's going to be a great experience to go there again and watch them practice and how they coach."

Auburn is next, where he'll see the SEC school during the Aug. 30th weekend. The Tigers were the first high-major program to offer a scholarship, he said.

"That helps. It's one of the perks because I know they believe in me as a player and as a person," Smith said. "It's definitely in the pro category."

A trip to Nashville to see Vanderbilt on Sept. 7 is the middle trip.

"They are a great athletic school and a great academic school. I really like the coaches there in coach (Kevin) Stallings, (assistant coach Dan (Muller) and (assistant) King Rice. They are all good guys," Smith said. "I had a good time when I went up there this summer and met the guys."

Michigan will host Smith on Sept. 14 as he makes his furthest trip away from home. One of the gems of the weekend is seeing the Wolverines tangle with Notre Dame on the gridiron. The Wolverines new style of play is what attracted Smith to the Big Ten program.

"That's the main reason," he said. "When he contacted me and my family, (John Beilein) told us that 'I usually wouldn't have a chance to recruit (a player like you) but now that I'm at Michigan, I feel like we have a good chance to do that. We'd have a great ability to recruit you.' That's the main reason why I'm looking at them because I liked the way his teams played at West Virginia."

Georgia rounds out his trips as Smith makes a short drive out to Athens to see the Bulldogs up close and personal on Sept. 21. The home school draw is a plus, Smith said.

"Of course it's attractive because you pass people on the street and they have Georgia shirts on and the cars have the license plates. It's almost an unfair recruiting advantage. You just see it all the time. You see the big red and black G everywhere," he said.

"And, of course, going to play with Howard (Thompkins) and Dustin (Ware), who are two great guys, is also a pro. Knowing the guys going there is a plus."

Smith said the next five weeks are the most important weeks of his recruitment. This is where he'll separate all of his options.

"The visits are a big thing with me because I know I couldn't make a decision right now. One day, I like one school. The next day, I like another. And it's usually whoever I talk to that particular day," Smith said. "That's why I think the visits are going to help tell me where I need to be.

"Two things that are real big because I already have a good relationship with the coaches at all of the schools. One is their style of play. How will I fit into everything? Where can I see myself relating to them for four years? And then when will I see myself really making an impact for the team? Somewhere that I can go and be a leader and a glue guy for my team like I am for (my AAU team, the Georgia) Stars."

One or two weeks after his final visit, Smith said he hopes to make his decision final.