Safety Devante Smith Becomes Hokies' First 2017 Commit, Joining Slew of Stonewall Jackson HS Alums

2017 safety Devante Smith isn't the first player from Stonewall Jackson HS in Manassas to commit to the Hokies, but he's certainly the speediest.

Tech only offered Smith about a month ago at the team's prospect camp in June, yet he says he knew immediately he wanted to commit, announcing his decision on Twitter Monday night.

Officially a hokie!— devante smith (@devantesmith2) July 21, 2015

"I was most comfortable there, and they already have what I want to major in," Smith said.

That major is a certainly a challenging one: Smith says he wants to try engineering at Tech.

But it wasn't just the academics that convinced him to come to Tech. Smith calls his look at the facilities at camp a "big factor" in his decision, and he was also able to build a relationship with the team's coaches on the trip.

"I talked to Coach (Torrian) Gray a few times after the camp, so that helped," Smith said.

"They really like my size and athletic ability," Smith told The Key Play after he attended a June camp at Virginia Tech. "He (Gray) told me they'd want me to play a little of both (corner and safety) but I'd mostly be a safety. That's mostly what I do in high school, but this year coming up I'll play a little corner too."

"He's really patient with all the DBs," Smith continued. "Everyone makes mistakes, but he helps you work through them."

That rapport with his future defensive backs coach means Gray was the first one to know yesterday that Smith wanted to be the first player to join the 2017 class. Smith called up Gray a few hours before spreading the word about his commitment.

"He was really excited about it, knowing I was going to go there," Smith said.

Yet even all those factors only explain so much about why Smith was willing to make a decision so early. While many rising juniors are only just sifting through their offer lists to identify potential favorites at this point in their recruitment, Smith says he was ready to stop the process abruptly once he found the right fit.

The Hokies are his only offer, yet Smith has no problem making the call early. In fact, he says it should be helpful to cut down on distractions during the year.

"I wanted to get it over with before school started so it's not stressful," Smith said.

Smith allows that he "might consider" visiting other schools should more offers come his way in the future. Yet he says can't think of any program he'd particularly like to receive an offer from, even if he wouldn't seriously consider decommitting from the Hokies.

Part of Smith's certainty undoubtedly comes from the support he's gotten from the other Stonewall players committed to Tech.

Not only is Greg Stroman readying for a big year on the field for the Hokies, but 2015 signee Tim Settle and 2016 commit Reggie Floyd have made it no secret that they're excited for Smith to join them in Blacksburg.

Another stonewall Hokie #HokieNation https://t.co/XNMWrGb1E0— Tim Settle (@tim_settle) July 21, 2015

Go follow lil bro he just committed to Virginia Tech he's a HOKIE now @devantesmith2 pic.twitter.com/6edVvWJhjc— Reggie Floyd (@_ImThatDude20) July 21, 2015

"They're really excited about it, that we'll all be playing football together," Smith said. "It helped a little bit, knowing that they'll be there when I'll be there and that made it more comfortable, knowing that I'll know people there."

Smith says he likely won't be joining them any earlier than normal: he has no plans to enroll early at this point, even with his college choice settled.

But he will still be angling to get back to campus this season and get a look at the game atmosphere that awaits him when he arrives to play in Lane Stadium.

"I want to go down for a game so I can see the atmosphere, but I have to talk to Coach Gray about that," Smith said.