Linebacker loves fans, chooses Cyclones

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

Donald Smith fell in love with Iowa State the second his plane landed in Iowa via Riverview, Fla. on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t the cold weather that knocked his socks off either. It was the people.

“I had my Cyclone stuff on and people came up and asked about me and stuff like that,” Smith said. “It was a good family atmosphere. I got to see a lot of the fans. Everything about it was great.”

Smith, whoRivals.com lists as a 6-foot-2, 210-pound outside linebacker out of Riverview (Spoto) Fla., officially visited Iowa State this weekend and made his pledge to Paul Rhoads on Sunday. Smith chose the Cyclones over claimed offers from Iowa, Washington State, Wake Forest and Eastern Michigan.

Smith told CycloneFanatic.com on Sunday night that the Iowa State coaching staff plans on him spending time at outside linebacker, along with the nickelback position.

“They want me to come in and fill that role,” Smith said. “In high school, I was a safety so they want me to play the open field and come up and tackle.”

Smith averaged 13.3 tackles per game this season for Spoto. He also intercepted two passes on the season, while totaling 133 tackles on the year.

What’s ironic here is that not too long ago, Smith was clueless about Cyclone football. It is amazing what one big win on national television can do.

“I really didn’t know anything about Iowa State. Then, I watched the Texas game on TV,” Smith said. “That made me think that they are up and coming. I want to help them be successful and be Big 12 champions.”

Iowa State’s defensive tackles coach Shane Burnham is credited as Smith’s primary recruiter.