Twin brothers decommit from Michigan to play for Kentucky

For Jacob Smith and Jerod Smith Jr., you can go home again. And that’s exactly what they’ll be doing with Mark Stoops and Kentucky.

On Friday night, the twin brothers announced their de-commitment from Michigan and revealed that they would instead play for the Wildcats.

The four-star defensive linemen, who were born in Lexington, began their prep careers at Somerset High School (Kentucky) but eventually transferred to Loomis Chaffee School (Connecticut) and then to Connecticut (Cheshire Academy) in January. Now everything circles back around as they head home to 1540 University Drive.

“[Associate head] coach [Vince] Marrow just started to chitchat with the boys and basically sold them on being the hometown hero,” the boys’ father, Jerod Smith Sr., told ESPN. “They’re the best kids in the state and that would allow them to have more success now and after college football for that reason.

“The boys really bought into that and not only did they buy into that, they love to be back home. This state means a lot to them.”

Jacob is No. 97 overall in the 2024 ESPN 300 and Smith Jr. is No. 153 overall in 2024. The duo provides an immediate upgrade for Kentucky’s 2024 class.

“They just have a huge support group here,” Smith Sr. added. “Kentucky was able to use that to get the boys to come. Because up until last week, Jerod was still wearing his Michigan gloves and his Michigan cleats.”

In addition to the Smith brothers, Kentucky also recently added an ESPN 300 pledge in cornerback Terhyon Nichols (No. 297 overall in 2024).