A look at Javonte Smith’s college prospects after UT offer

Before football season began in August, North Side head coach Woodrow Lowe said one of the players who had a lot of potential was sophomore wide receiver Javonte Smith.

So far, Smith has begun to live up to that potential.

Eight games into the season, he’s recorded 27 rushes for 276 yards and four scores, good enough for an average of more than 10 yards per carry.

He’s caught 15 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns.

Smith pushed the Indians to their big win at Lexington in Week 4 with a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner which came on fourth-and-long for a nearly 40-yard run to put North Side ahead on the road.

His score this past week helped North Side in its comeback win at South Side, and he was a catalyst in nearly knocking off Dyersburg in Week 6. Eight of his 15 receptions came int hat Dyersburg loss, and he gained 108 yards on those catches.

“He’s a strong kid and very fast, so we’re trying to help build him up physically in the weight room but keep him fast,” Lowe said in the summer. “Because with his frame and speed and catching ability, he can be a weapon for us and potentially a weapon for a college team on Saturdays after he’s done playing here.”

The potential to play on Saturdays in college increased dramatically last weekend.

Smith received his first college scholarship offer, and it was from the University of Tennessee.

He’s listed at 6-feet-1-inch and 175 pounds. According to his Hudl page, his 40-yard dash time is 4.4 seconds.

He’s not listed on the 247 Sports Top 100 Recruits list for the 2026 signing class, but there’s typically a good amount of shuffling of those rankings over the course of the class’ high school football career.

Based on past local players who’ve received college attention, once an athlete receives one offer, that player will receive a number of other offers from a similar level of college in the following days and weeks.

Former North Side defensive lineman Greg Emerson received his first scholarship offer from Michigan State in the spring of his sophomore year. By the time his junior season of football started, he had a long list of offers from Division I, Power 5 programs.

Time will tell if Smith gets a similar amount of attention at the wide receiver position with a few months’ head start on Emerson.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news