Tyler Smith, who is one of the state’s top prospects for next year, revealed a big secret on Tuesday.

The 4-star receiver told DawgNation that he pretty much knows where he wants to go to college, and he will publicly decide between UGA, Auburn and North Carolina next month.

“I kind of know where I want to go and I will be committing next month,” Smith said.

The nation’s No. 26 receiver for 2017 has remarkable clarity regarding that choice. Smith didn’t reveal his decision on Tuesday but dropped some major hints.

“I love the receiver coach there,” Smith said about his secret school. “I’ve got to be able to spend time with him because that’s who will be with me the next four years. He’s a great coach and I just love going down there. It is a great place. Every time I go down there I feel like it is home and just get a different feeling compared to a visit to any other school.”

Smith said he’s not certain about the exact date he plans to commit. He said that his family hasn’t told that coaching staff yet where he wants to go. He’s thinking that he will just tweet it out. He does plan to take an official visit to all three schools during his senior year.

“My Top 3 schools are all in the Top 20 in the nation of what I want to study in college,” Smith said. “I want to be a veterinarian.”

The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder said Auburn has recruited him the hardest. He gets 20 pieces of mail just about every day from the Tigers. Smith also shared his feelings toward each school.

  • North Carolina: “It’s a nice school. It is not too far from home. They’ve got some great coaches down there.”
  • UGA: “It is real close to home. We always grew up liking Georgia.
  • Auburn: “My cousin (Brad Ware) played for Auburn. He started as a freshman and when I went down there the coaches showed me a lot of love.”

Smith said that the receivers at McEachern know his choice. So does McEachern junior quarterback Bailey Hockman. Hockman has committed to UGA.

Smith suffered an unfortunate season-ending knee injury earlier this season. He tore his ACL and his meniscus against Buford. He said his rehab is progressing ahead of schedule and he will start will running again in January.

He felt he should be ready to go for spring practice at McEachern.

 

Jeff Sentell covers UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.