By now West Salem Quarterback Cade Smith should have his name on the auto-dial of every Division 1 and Division 1AA school out West. He is a couple of words is “That Good”. The 6’2″- 205 lb 3 year starter has broken almost every record his older brother Brett set a few short years back; and Brett was one of the most prolific QB’s of all time. He went on to Wyoming and was a phenom while there being named to an All American list or two. Brett is now training to play for the Arena Football League’s Sabrecats in San Jose.
This year the Senior, Cade Smith, has seen an offer from Wyoming slip away for no real reason; an offer which was replaced by NAVY a few months back.
This week he got great news that the Utah State Aggies have a scholarship waiting on him after High School if he will grey shirt next Fall and enroll in January. This is due to the Aggies having no QB scholarships to give; still it is a really good option for him.
Most of this comes from two things Cade has done really well.
Reason #1 Cade has lead his team for 3 years and he saved his best for last. After loosing early games to South Salem and West Albany the Titans were able to rally and by the end of League they were considered as a Top 12 team in the Power Rankings used by the OSAA to seed the brackets. As the 11th seed they are now in the final 4 and will face the #2 Tigard Tigers in what promises to be a classic.
“As of tonight I have about 2,300 yards passing with 30 Td’s. I have also rushed for 1,100 yards and added 17 TD’s there,” said Cade.
His career stats are just way beyond that and in total there may only be one or two QB’s in the entire NW that can say they posted anything remotely close to this during their career. He also plays at the highest level (6A) in Oregon and has been posting huge numbers against the best teams in the State.
Reason #2 Cade stayed off the showcase circuit during the off-season and went to the source. He did camps at colleges that were interested in him and he says that has made the difference.
“After seeing what my brother went through our family understands that there are no givens in recruiting and that anything can happen,” said Cade admitting he did what was needed to succeed. “We picked our spots and targeted the schools that had shown interest in me. That meant getting to BYU, Utah State, and some other camps at schools and there was not time or real need for me to try and get to the showcase events.”
Montana State appears to close to offering and they should. What is curious is the lack of offers out of the Big Sky this season. It seems teams are offering their Walk-Ons and waiting to fill needs this year later in the process.
This strategy paid off and we believe before he is done he will have other options as well. Pressing the flesh and meeting the coaches on their turf counts for more then almost anything except having a great transcript. Show love to get love!
On to the Playoffs now. Tigard is waiting and Cade and the Titans are already getting their game faces on.
Another kid to watch for the Titans is Keegan Hlad. A 6’4″- Wide Receiver we think is the best in the State. With 18 TD’s so far he has been the other half of the best 1-2 QB & receiver combo in the State.
The teams will meet at Hillsboro Stadium this Friday at Noon! See the playoff schedule right here.
Catch Cade Smiths Profile here at NWPR
Cade Smith Lands Utah State and Navy Options But More Could Come