Previously: Last year's profiles. S Quinten Johnson, S Daxton Hill, CB DJ Turner II, CB Jalen Perry, LB Joey Velazquez, LB Anthony Solomon, LB Charles Thomas, DE David Ojabo, DE Gabe Newburg, DE Mike Morris, DT Chris Hinton.

Grand Rapids, MI – 6'3", 303
[Patrick Barron]		24/7	4*, #170 overall #12 DT, #6 MI
		Rivals	4*, #142 overall #9 DT, #7 MI
		ESPN	4*, #45 overall #4 DT, #3 MI
		Composite	4*, #105 overall #11 DT, #4 MI
		Other Suitors	PSU, ND, MSU, OSU, Wisc
		YMRMFSPA	Willie Henry
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from Ace.
Notes	No twitter! Early Enrollee.
Film
Junior year: And a Rivals thing:

Mazi Smith is a gamer. When he comes to play, he's one of the best defensive tackles in the country. But everyone from the recruiting analysts down to Smith himself has admitted that is not always consistent. Allen Trieu:

“…he kind of turns it on and off. Against really good teams he plays extremely well. I’ve seen him dominate against Farmington Hills Harrison and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. He needs to do that all the time. And when he said that recently in an interview, it was a positive for me that he realized that the switch has to be flipped (on) all the time. But, when it’s on, that kid is really, really talented.”

Elsewhere Trieu asserts that Smith "has always played to the level of his competition"; Josh Helmholdt had a similar take, saying that the "question with him is just whether or not he consistently wants to dominate" and that "it's just a mental aspect … keeping him engaged."

Even ESPN, which liked him so much they had him in five-star range earlier in the cycle and deigned to write him up when he committed, noted that his down-to-down performance wasn't everything it could be:

…nice blend of size, quickness and agility, but the initial key for him will be improving his consistency in all areas. He possesses the physical tools you look for in a player at the position but shows them in flashes. He needs to maximize his abilities and execute his technique from play-to-play.

This is a concern. It is almost literally the only one put forth about Smith, who in all other ways appears to be an elite defensive tackle prospect. Helmholdt again:

“…everything you’d want physically in a three-technique defensive tackle, from size to quickness to strength …really has it all. I saw him take over a game last fall when he was simply unblockable. … He does such a good job of collapsing the pocket from the interior and shutting down the A-gap and wreaking havoc.

[After THE JUMP: more of that]

ESPN's basis for their near-five star ranking:

…very good size and flashes an explosive first step. He demonstrates that he can fire off and win with quickness and leverage and can be stout taking on blocks. … can move well for his size and can be active along the line of scrimmage. He can disrupt against the run, but also has the tools to generate pressure as an interior pass-rusher with his initial quickness, agility, and active hands.

Trieu:

…won't find many tools in the tool belt he is missing. … 6-foot-3, 300 pounds with the quickness off the ball to win with burst and the power to win with strength. He does a good job with his hands, and plays with pretty good pad level as well. …[lacks] consistent dominance.

John Garcia on watching 1-on-1s:

"I would ask “who is this guy?” It was always this ridiculous leverage guy. A leverage monster. If he got under you, he was going to be a problem even for the most physically gifted offensive linemen. … Consistency is probably his next step. Conditioning and technique will also be important, but he’s one of those guys on any given play can just wreck the whole plan. He’s that powerful on the interior."

His coach describes him as a "refrigerator" and an "extremely explosive and powerful" guy with "tremendous pad level." I'll take four, especially since he backed that praise up with an 81 tackles, 18 TFL senior year. You can only be so inconsistent and put up MLB tackle numbers.

Like his future running buddy Chris Hinton, Smith made a statement at his all-star game after eschewing the previous summer's camp circuit. He did the UA game and was immediately picked out as one of, if not the, best defensive linemen in attendance. Encouragingly, one of the things that stood out about him relative to the other guys in attendance was his, yep, consistency. Trieu:

“…he has established himself, I think, as the best interior guy. …just been more consistent … There was no drop-off. I think some of the guys were tired (Tuesday), it being the third day and also New Year’s day. There was some sluggishness out there, but not from (Smith) at all.”

Rivals also asserted that he's been "among the most consistent performers regardless of position."

Smith was able to impress mostly because he might be a bear (barely) passing as a person. Evaluation after evaluation describes Smith simply running over anyone put in front of him:

• "…one of the most physically imposing players in attendance. That has been most evident during several of his overpowering bull rushes."
• …had to be one of the stronger players in this game. He won numerous reps with straight power. You combine his power with pad level and that is a nightmare for the offensive lineman in front of him.
• "…a day full of showcasing his power, including barreling over the blocker en route to the quarterback on this rep."
• "…just kept pushing the man in front of him into the backfield all day. He was strong at the point of attack, he played with good leverage and he was tough to slow down. He looked like he got stronger as the day progressed."
• "…continues to impose his will against opposing linemen with the full gear on, recovering from an apparent loss to win the rep with sheer power."

Sometimes this fails to translate to college but since Smith was hurling the best guys in his class around it'll probably be fine. Smith pairs the above strength with a lot of praise for his ability to move:

• …quicks and twitch for a big-bodied interior guy. …violent hands and is obviously already strong at this juncture.
• …not just strong, he has good lateral mobility, a quick get off and showed he can beat an opposing lineman in multiple ways.
• “…he’s got the power, he’s got the explosiveness off the ball, and the twitch. He’s got all of the tools. … wide bodied, powerfully built kid who looks the part in every way out here so far.”

The potential to be an all-purpose wrecker is there. It will take some development to get there. One side effect of the ability to hurl everyone out of your way is that you don't have to develop a diverse package of moves, and when Smith went up against Devontae Dobbs he couldn't always overpower him ("Those two guys have been going at it … Sometimes one gets one, sometimes one gets the other"). After some coaching up he won against Dobbs with quickness and cleverness…

“Mazi had a really good rep against [Dobbs] where he used his hands, which was immediately a technical point that they had coached him on right before the rep.”

…and that'll have to something he adds over the next couple years to hit his ceiling.

Smith enrolled early and generated the usual smattering of positive press conference mentions. Shaun Nua said he was "very, very impressed with Mazi's strength"; Don Brown called him a "talent," "a great kid," and a "hard worker". But it was Donovan Jeter who brought the quote heat:

And for the young guys who have had to step up into those roles because of injuries, what has it been like for them? What have you seen from them?

“…with him it’s going to be how fast he can pick up the speed of the game because Mazi, dude’s like a monster.

“Want to talk about a monster? First day, upper body, I’m one of the strongest benchers on the team and he’s making the weight I’m doing look light and I’m sitting there like Maybe I need to reevaluate myself. He’s coming in just moving weight and I’m sitting there like, ‘Man..’ He’s so far ahead of the curve he doesn’t know it yet, so every day I’m in his ear like ‘Yo, when you’re ready to dominate, you’ll dominate.’ But he has great potential. He’s big—he’s just so big and strong. Like I said, when he’s ready to dominate, he’ll dominate.”

He did not draw mention in our spring coverage, but he's coming.

Why Willie Henry? Henry had close to no recruiting profile coming out of Glenville in Cleveland and took a while to get going because he was a bear wearing a helmet. Henry was immensely strong and had the technique issues that result when you can throw everyone who tries to block you into the concession stand.

Once he got the hang of competing on a relatively level playing field he became the kind of defensive tackle who frequently shoves his opposing number into the running back and then lets others pick the bones of a play he killed. Sometimes he'd stand up, get blown out, and still find a way to hurl his guy out of the way and get back into the play. He also developed into a pass rusher with a quick first step, notching 6.5 sacks his junior (and final) year. 

Smith is almost exactly the same size and has the same strength and maybe some technique deficiencies. It seems like he's a guy who naturally plays low—"leverage monster" and all that and he has better upside than Henry if he can work the motor out.

And yes, the Hurst comparison is out there. ESPN invoked his name:

Reminds us of: This is a lofty comparison, but Smith could develop into a player much in the mold of recently departed Michigan DT standout Maurice Hurst. Hurst is an explosive player who can not only take on blocks but also quickly get up-field and disrupt, and Smith can grow into a player who could assume a similar role and have a comparable impact for Michigan's defense.

Smith is already bigger than Hurst and he's more about crushing your face with power at this juncture, but the mobility and ability to get in the backfield are both similar.

Guru Reliability: Moderate. All star appearance helps things but I think he's still pretty underrated because he skipped camps and was coming from a lot farther back than Hinton, who dominated the Army game in similar fashion. West Michigan doesn't get a lot of national attention but Trieu lives in the area and saw Smith a ton.

Variance: Low-plus. Already college size, no positional projection, motor probably going to be fine but that is a minor worry, technique also a potential issue.

Ceiling: Vast. Bear-strong and twitchy at 300+ already. Easy to see him blowing up into a first round pick.

General Excitement Level: Very high. If I picked a four-star who should probably have been a five-star Smith would be it in this class.

Projection: Is also already in the two deep even if he's not. Michigan does not have the luxury of redshirting either of their DTs as they try to find depth at spots that have 1.5 starters these days. Like Hinton he's likely to be a contributor but not a starter for his first two years since Dwumfour and Kemp are likely to return as seniors; the decks clear for 2021 and beyond, when it's hard to see anyone other than Smith and Hinton starting.