12/12/2022 football Edit

Virginia Tech transfer WR Kaleb Smith intends to visit Notre Dame

Virginia Tech transfer portal wide receiver Kaleb Smith has received interest from Notre Dame. (Reinhold Matay-USA Today Sports)

Tyler James • InsideNDSports

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Covering Notre Dame football, recruiting and other Irish sports. Email: tjames@insidendsports.com

Notre Dame wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey has already successfully recruited one wide receiver named Kaleb Smith.

The Irish received a verbal commitment from 2023 recruit Kaleb Smith, a three-star prospect from Frisco (Texas) Ricky Reedy, on Dec. 1, and he’s expected to sign with Irish next week during the early signing period.

On Monday, Stuckey visited another Kaleb Smith. That Kaleb Smith is a Virginia Tech graduate wide receiver who entered the transfer portal last week. The 6-foot-2, 222-pound Smith shared on Twitter that he plans to return the gesture and visit Notre Dame this weekend. The visit appears to have taken place in Pittsburgh.

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Smith caught 37 passes for 674 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games as Virginia Tech’s leading receiver and one of the team’s seven captains. The Hokies (3-8) owned the 102nd-ranked passing offense in the FBS with only 203.3 yards per game. Smith accounted for 18.2% of Virginia Tech's receptions, 30.1% of its receiving yards and 33.3% of its receiving touchdowns.

Smith, who started his Virginia Tech career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship, totaled 74 receptions for 1,143 yards and seven touchdowns in four seasons with the Hokies. Smith still has one season of eligibility remaining because of the COVID-19 eligibility exemption given to those who played in the 2020 season.

Rivals rated Smith as a two-star recruit in high school. He played most of his high school career at Ashland (Va.) Patrick Henry before transferring to Louisa County High in Mineral, Va., for a senior season he ended up missing with an injury.

Now Rivals rates Smith as a three-star portal prospect. As of Monday afternoon, Smith was ranked as the No. 23 wide receiver in the ever-changing Rivals portal rankings.

The Irish have been active in the wide receiver portal market. They extended early offers to Kent State’s Dante Cephas and Iowa’s Keagan Johnson. Cephas visited Penn State over the weekend, and Johnson committed to Kansas State on Sunday.

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