UM lands '14 commitment from Miami Northwestern sack master Mike Smith

UM netted one of the nation's top pass rushers and arguably the best defensive player in its own backyard in the Class of 2014 Saturday morning when Miami Northwestern High defensive end Mike Smith committed to the program.

Smith, 6-3, 210 pounds according to his high school coach, made the commitment while attending another session of the Al Golden Summer Camp on Saturday.

Last season, Smith produced 73 tackles and finished second in Miami-Dade County with 18 sacks.

"He's a great character kid," Northwestern High coach Stephen Field said. "Defensive coordinator Luther Campbell has done a really good job making him aggressive. He's the type of kid you want leading your team."

Smith played exclusively as a defensive end last season, but is being recruited to UM as both a linebacker and defensive end. Field said he will play both linebacker and defensive end as a high school senior.

Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee were all finalists for Smith, who told Field before heading to UM's camp Saturday he was ready to end his recruiting process and commit to the Hurricanes.

"He's a good one," Field said. "He's got a 3.0 GPA, already qualified. He runs a 4.6, 4.7, benches well over 300 pounds. He made his decision, told me he wanted to do it and was ready."

A consensus three-star recruit, Smith is ranked the 21st best defensive end in the country according to Rivals.com; 32nd by 247Sports.com and 71st by ESPN.com.

UM struggled producing sacks last season, ranking 113th out of 120 FBS programs with 13 sacks.