Brothers Jerod, left, and Jacob Smith got to see former teammate Kiaya Sheron during their recent visit to Kentucky when they both were offered scholarships. (Twitter Photo)
When twins Jacob and Jerod Smith went to the University of Kentucky football camp they were not expecting to get a scholarship offer even though a number of other schools had already made offers. Yet before they left UK, the two former Somerset High School players — they will continue their careers next season at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut — both had Kentucky offers to go along with ones from Arizona, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Tennessee, Boston College, and Rutgers.
“We were just planning on a visit. The offer really did surprise us,” said Jacob Smith.
Jacob Smith is a 6-4 1/2, 227-pound defensive end/tight end. His brother, Jerod, is a 6-3, 250-pound pound linebacker-defensive end-running back.
“Coaches like us because we are versatile and how mature we are for our age with our weight and height,” Jacob Smith said.
Jerod Smith had 55 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, and ran 45 times for 296 yards and four scores in 2019 when Somerset won the Class AA state title. Last season he had 66 tackles, including eight tackles for loss, and 73 yards and one score on the 12 running attempts he had.
Jacob Smith had 23 tackles, including two quarterback sacks, in 2019. Last season he had eight catches for 174 yards and 32 tackles, including eight tackles for loss.
They played the last two seasons with current UK freshman quarterback Kaiya Sheron. They moved to Somerset when they were in middle school to live with their grandmother but now are heading to the northeast to play at the Loomis Chaffee School. It’s a boarding school where the two will live together.
“The academics are really good there,” Jacob Smith said. “They have not been too good in football, but they are going to be good next year because they are bringing in top recruits like us.”
They had no connection to the Loomis Chaffee before coach Jeff Moore reached out to them on social media.
“He hit us up on Twitter. At first, we thought he was a college coach,” Jacob Smith said. “Then we realized it was a high school. We kept texting and talking and he finally convinced us to come up there.”
They are part of a military family so they are used to moving. They have also decided to take the “do-over year” and plan to play three seasons at Loomis Chaffee before starting their college careers.
“We had two really good years at Somerset but just think this is the best move for our future. We want to play in college together and just feel this is the best way to help us both keep getting better,” Jacob Smith said.
