Texas Tech football: 2020 QB Donovan Smith commits to Red Raiders

Monday, the Texas Tech football team picked up a verbal commitment from 2020 QB Donovan Smith from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Texas Tech football hosted dozens of recruits last weekend in what turned out to be one of the most successful weekends on campus in some time.  As the Red Raider basketball team was blowing out Kansas, the baseball team was sweeping Kentucky and the men’s track team was claiming the Big 12 indoor track championship, Matt Wells and his coaching staff was getting a jumpstart on the 2020 recruiting class.

And one of those visitors, quarterback Donovan Smith, committed to Texas Tech on Monday.  The 6-foot-4, 192-pound prospect played wide receiver last year for the prestigious Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada but is being recruited by Texas Tech as a quarterback.

Though he is yet to be a full-time starter at the position, Tech is in a unique position to know what he is capable of.  That is because his father is Texas Tech’s new running backs coach DeAndre Smith.

As a receiver, he hauled in 49 catches for 806 yards and eight touchdowns in 2018.   He also served as the team’s backup QB behind Micah Bowens, who is committed to Penn State.

"But according to 247Sports recruiting analyst Blair Angulo, “He’s definitely an intriguing player behind center given his arm strength and athleticism. There are some around the Bishop Gorman program in Las Vegas that have voiced their support for Smith to get more time at QB over Bowens”.More from Wreck'Em RedTexas Tech football: Red Raider fans need to know about these MountaineersTexas Tech football: Red Raiders land first commit for class of 2025Texas Tech football: Why have the Red Raiders struggled on the road under McGuire?Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders can compete for a Big 12 titleTexas Tech football: Plenty of questions remain as conference play arrives"

Bishop Gorman is one of the top high school programs in the nation.  Playing a schedule that consists of teams from around the country, Gorman has won ten-consecutive state titles and three national titles.

Currently, he is rated as a 3-star athlete by 247Sports.com.  He is the No. 9 player in Nevada and has offers from Nevada, San Diego State and Utah State.  The offer from Utah State is obviously significant because it came from Wells prior to his arrival in Lubbock.

It appears that Smith fits the prototype of what Wells and his offensive coordinator David Yost want in a QB.  Last season 6-foot-4, 225-pound, Jordan Love threw for 3,567 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for seven more scores in guiding the Utah State offense to a No. 2 overall national ranking.

Smith appears to be cut from that same physical mold but there still remains questions from fans about whether or not he is a quality QB.  And if he is going to play QB in college, he likely will not be able to stay at Bishop Gorman being as Bowens appears entrenched as the starter.

This development also gives Tech a second QB in the class of 2020.  In early November, Austin, TX QB Wilson Long committed to Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders but it appears like Wells and his staff are headed in a different direction with the Smith’s commitment.  However, Long remains committed at this point.

The good news for the Red Raiders is that the future of the QB position appears set with Alan Bowman being just a sophomore in 2019.  That means 2019 signee Maverick McIvor will have plenty of time to recover from the knee injury that cost him almost all of his senior season and Smith will have plenty of time to develop as a passer once he arrives on campus.