Fresno City running back Jeremy Smith headed to Louisville

BY ANTHONY GALAVIZ, The Fresno Bee

It wasn't an easy decision for Jeremy Smith.

But the record-setting Fresno City College running back has made up his mind regarding the next stop in his football career: Louisville and coach Bobby Petrino.

The Rams freshman from Hammond, La., will sign a letter of intent Wednesday with the Cardinals and transfer next month. He picked the Atlantic Coast Conference program over offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Southern Mississippi and Colorado.

When he arrived at Fresno City in the fall, Smith didn't have a "dream school" in mind for his next stop but he wanted a "big-time offer" and in the end Louisville stood out because of its graduation rate, he said.

Smith didn't start for Fresno City until the fifth game of the season against Reedley on Oct. 4 when he ran for 168 yards and a touchdown. He took off from there, finishing with a state-best 1,735 yards with 17 touchdowns and setting a school single-game rushing record of 375 yards against College of the Sequoias. He finished his Rams career as the team's player of the game in a victory against Santa Rosa in the State Center Bowl.

"He makes people feel comfortable around him; he's very easy to coach," Fresno City coach Tony Caviglia said. "He's a big back who can break one-on-one tackles and has the speed to finish runs in the end zone."

Craig Williams, Smith's father, was appreciative of the work Caviglia and Rams running back coach Jesus Reyes put in with Smith, who joins a Louisville program losing senior running backs Michael Dyer and Dominique Brown after the Belk Bowl on Dec. 30.

"They made him work, made him go in and earn (the start). Perfect set-up for him," Williams said. "I think he's going to go in and he's going to make a huge impact once he gets to Louisville."

Smith didn't get much attention after he played at Hammond High even after he had a career game when he had a 31 carries for 447 yards and seven touchdowns against Pearl River High as a junior in 2012. Southeastern Louisiana was the only school offered Smith a scholarship and he signed with the FBS school before deciding it wasn't for him and enrolling instead at Fresno City. Southeastern Louisiana has since released Smith from his commitment.

"I'm just trying to go along with it and see what happens there," Smith said of Louisville. "Try to start and help out the team."

Also …

• Fresno City offensive lineman Connor Shannon will sign with Weber State. Shannon started all 11 games for the Rams this season.

• West Hills wide receiver Anthony Mahoungou will sign with Purdue. He finished with 801 yards and nine touchdowns for the Falcons.