ND commit pares down hat collection

Scattered across Jaylon Smith’s bedroom were a rainbow of sweatshirts
and snapback hats from many of the schools that had courted him during
his college recruitment.

Now a Notre Dame commit, the rising senior linebacker from Fort Wayne
thought about trying to sell the clothing that he’d bought on visits
to each school.

He was invested in his Notre Dame commitment and didn’t see the need
to have clothing for other schools. So on June 6, Smith took to
Twitter to try and pawn off the gear.

“Im sellin new college hoodies and snapbacks for 12 dollars!$$ i aint
got use for none of them, i dnt wear nothin tht isnt labeled Nd hit
me!” Smith tweeted.

He followed up the tweet with photos showing sweatshirts from Florida,
Ohio State, Purdue, USC, and Miami and a line of more than a dozen
hats stretching across a dresser.

Looking for interested buyers, Smith posted his phone number in one of
the tweets. In the coming hour, Smith’s Twitter timeline and cell
phone started getting throttled.

Followers sent him tweets worrying about possible NCAA violations and
started suggesting other alternatives to get rid of the gear. Some
took Smith’s tweets as disrepect to the schools that had
unsuccessfully recruited him. But the then 16-year-old Smith insisted
he was just trying to have a little fun.

“I didn’t need to say all that stuff,” Smith told the Tribune a week
after the tweets. “I’m going to give them away to my little brother.”

“I was just having a little fun, just really showing all the stuff I
had when I was caught up getting all those offers from Alabama and all
that stuff. As kids, we go out and get stuff just to wear. Eventually
it was a waste of money because I ended up committing (to Notre
Dame).”

Smith’s 17th birthday was last Thursday and he planned on buying a
couple more Notre Dame hats and possibly something for his new car
while on his Friday visit to Notre Dame to replenish his wardrobe.

Smith tweeted about possibly throwing all the gear away or donating it
to charity that night, but as time passed he decided he knew people
who would appreciate the clothing.

He turned himself into a summertime Santa Claus, giving away the gear
to family members. Smith’s older brother Rod plays at Ohio State, so
he decided to give a Buckeye sweatshirt to his dad.

“I’m just figuring out ways to give,” Smith said.

Smith wasn’t done tweeting that night. He realized he needed to
respond to the fans who decided to use Smith’s posted phone number as
an opportunity to connect with the high school athlete.

“Much love for yu irish fans! But stop texting me to say goodluck at
nd and things like tht just write me on here!” Smith tweeted.

It was a lesson learned about the popularity of being one of the
nation’s top linebackers and a Notre Dame commit.

“It was crazy. I kind of knew before I sent it that there was going to
be some fans out there that we’re actually going to call me and text
me,” Smith said. “I’m a regular kid. I’m not a superstar. I really
like reaching out to the fans. I like that type of stuff. I wasn’t
really too concerned.”