2022 DeQuandre Smith receives first scholarship offer from Michigan

Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary came in clutch with a Christmas gift for 2022 quarterback DeQuandre Smith, providing him his first scholarship to play college football on Dec. 25.

“It meant a lot,” Smith told Maize n Brew. “(Jean-Mary) got in contact with my coach a lot, and (Christmas) was the first time we spoke. I think he’s a very nice man. I like him.

“He said ‘Merry Christmas’ to me and my family, and that my coach speaks very highly of me. Then he told me I had the offer from the University of Michigan.”

Now with the offer in hand, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder from Columbia, South Carolina said he is “most definitely” interested in seeing Michigan up close. It would be his first time being this far up north, as the farthest north he had previously traveled is Maryland.

Other schools that have reached out to him, but have yet to offer, include Clemson, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Appalachian State, Louisville, South Florida and Coastal Carolina.

When it comes to what he is looking for out of his future school, Smith said, “Somewhere I can call home and everyone around me is family. Feeling comfortable at a school is one of the top things, and how strong the school is about my particular major I’m trying to get when I graduate.”

Smith is looking to major in civil engineering in college. Luckily for him, if he decides to go to U-M, he will be at one of the better engineering programs in the country.

The Wolverines have now offered scholarships to 15 quarterbacks in the 2022 class. Only one of them is already committed to another program (Quinn Ewers — Ohio State), so they have a cast a wide net at the position in this class.

Check out highlights from Smith’s junior year below.