The rumors were true, the four-star defensive line duo of Jerod and Jacob Smith have flipped their commitments from Michigan to Kentucky.
After committing earlier last year, five 247 Crystal Balls had the twins flipping their commitments from the Wolverines to the Wildcats based on the growing belief that they wanted to play closer to home.
Yes, this sucks, and yes this is a blow to the Michigan 2024 class. Both Smith brothers were included in Michigan’s top-10 prospects on the composite so there’s no great way to spin this news. The silver lining is Michigan still has a nice crop of defensive line prospects coming into the picture next season which include Ted Hammond, Owen Walfe, Manugel Beigel, Devon Baxter, and Dominic Nichols — so all is not lost. With the Smith brothers flipping, Michigan will have two more scholarships open up which could definitely be used for other areas of need.
Meanwhile, Michigan is holding on to the 10th spot in ESPN’s 2024 recruiting rankings with 10 of the top 300 prospects heading into next season.