Synkwan Smith is an electric playmaker from the state of Georgia. Smith checks in at 5-9 and 165-pounds and stars for Roswell High School. Pitt offered the speedy weapon back in May and remained consistent with him ever since. He made his way to Pittsburgh for an official visit over the weekend, and left town as a commit.
“It just felt like a family,” Smith told Panther-Lair.com about his commitment. “Like me, Coach (Lindsey) Lamar, Coach (Archie) Collins, and Coach Kade’s relationship was just there.”
Lamar, Pitt’s first year running backs coach, has been the primary recruiter here. Smith appreciated how closely in-tuned the Panthers assistant was with him throughout the whole process.
“I love getting recruited by him,” Smith said of Lamar. "He checks up on me like every day, literally. Ever since they offered me, he literally has checked up on me every day.”
Pitt has a brand new offensive coaching staff and Smith is certainly in the profile of player Kade Bell has been recruiting. Smith was highly productive as a junior for his high school team going for 1,506 all-purpose yards with 17 total touchdowns, done in four different ways.
“Basically just the same role at Roswell, a little bit of everything,” Smith said of what he expects to do in Pitt’s offense. “Like a running back and they’re just going to be me out to receiver and run a couple of routes to get myself open.”
The visit concluded with a meeting with head coach Pat Narduzzi. Smith was impressed with the Panthers’ head coach and found it easy to get along with him.
“He’s a funny dude,” Smith said of Narduzzi. “I feel like I’m going to have a good time up there. He loves me and I feel like we’re just going to bond.”
The visit also showed him what Pittsburgh is like. His host, Poppi Williams, warned him about the cold. Smith liked all the food he tried in town and was impressed with Pitt’s setup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“That they are right beside the Steelers,” Smith said when asked what stood out about the visit. “I feel like I want to go to the league and that’s the best fit for me.”
Smith was one of five commitments for Pitt over the past three days. He joins offensive linemen Torian Chester, wide receiver Kha’leal Sterling and linebacker Emmanuel Taylor, along with one other who has yet to announce.
“It was pretty good,” Smith said of spending time with the other official visitors. “Everybody was cool and chill. I felt like everybody was going to commit, it was just the vibe. Everybody was loving it and had smiles on their face.”
Smith took a prior official visit to Georgia Tech a few weeks back. He was supposed to visit Kansas this past weekend, but cancelled that in order to visit Pitt. He held additional offers from Kansas State, UConn, Marshall, Western Kentucky, and more.
