Arizona State WR Jake Smith standing out in practice

On Saturday, Aug.17, Arizona State football hosted a full-pad scrimmage at Mountain America Stadium. While several players had strong performances, a wide receiver caught our eye.

Arizona State’s Jake Smith is primed for a big season

“Jake Smith just looks great out there,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said following the scrimmage. “I mean you guys saw his kick return today, he looks like the Jake Smith that was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Arizona… the freshman All-American. It’s awesome for me to see all the turmoil he’s been through, to see him kind of back.”

Smith attended Notre Dame Prep High School in Scottsdale, Ariz. In high school, Smith was the 2018 National Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior running back and wide receiver. That same year, he was also the 2018 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, USA Today All-USA second team, USA Today All-Arizona first team, Ed Doherty Award finalist, and 5A Northeast Valley Region Player of the Year and All-Region first team.

As a senior, Smith had over 2,300 all-purpose yards. Among those yards were 58 receptions for 1,070 receiving yards, 100 carries for 741 yards, 420 return kicks with 118 punt returns, and 39 total touchdowns on the season.

Following his historic high school campaign in Scottsdale, Smith left the state for Texas. Smith began his college career at Texas with the Longhorns. In his freshman season, the Scottsdale native had 25 receptions for 274 receiving yards in 2019. The following season, Smith racked up 23 receptions for 294 receiving yards in 2020.

After the 2020 season, the future Sun Devil would transfer to USC but did not appear in a game due to a foot injury upon arrival.

Finally, Smith found his way back to Ariz0na, joining Dillingham and the Sun Devils in 2023.

Smith returns to The Valley

Upon returning, Smith was unable to play for the season due to the NCAA eligibility rules. Fast forward to 2024, Smith is suiting up for the first time in two seasons.

On Saturday Smith was catching the attention of head coach Kenny Dillingham. Dillingham said Smith was looking “great” out there and he loves to see the “smile of him playing” on the field.

Dillingham was happy to see Smith’s “confidence” in playing the game again and has high hopes for Smith to get back to his old self.

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