In the past, the Miami Hurricanes have effectively put up a border around south Florida in an effort to dominate on the recruiting trail. On Saturday morning, though, word broke that Mark Richt and company were not able to do that with 2019 safety Keontra Smith.
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Smith took to Twitter and announced that, despite hailing from Hollywood (Fla.), he will be headed to Lexington to play for the Kentucky Wildcats at the college level.
Related: 4-star linebacker DeAndre Square announces commitment to emerging SEC squad
Smith chooses Kentucky over the likes of Auburn, Louisville and Miami and this is a big-time windfall for the Wildcats. The 5'11, 205-pound defensive back from Chaminade-Madonna Prep ranks as the No. 5 safety in the country according to 247Sports, and that ranking places him at No. 9 overall in the state of Florida and No. 57 among prospects nationally for the 2019 class.
This is the first commitment for the 2019 class when it comes to Kentucky but that is not a massive surprise given the early hour of that particular recruiting cycle. Still, that does not diminish the impact for the Wildcats in landing a prospect that had multiple options of some of the top programs in the country. Mark Stoops and company can't afford to rest on their laurels but this is a strong start for 2019 and beyond.
