Smith transfers to Tech from Utah

Louisiana Tech's receiving corps got much better Saturday when former Destrehan stand out Alfred Smith decided to transfer from Utah to Tech during a visit to Ruston.

Smith, who goes by Tarzan, was at one time committed to Arizona State but ultimately signed with Utah in February as a member of the 2015 signing class. Along with Arizona State and Utah Tarzan held offers from the likes of Clemson, Florida, Ole Miss, Nebraska and West Virginia all members of Power 5 Conferences.

After moving to Salt Lake City, Utah this summer, Smith told BleedTechBlue.com it was "inconvenient" being that far from his family.

[RELATED: Under-signing paying dividends for Tech]

"I wanted to be close to my family so I decided to come up here and check things out because I can go back home sometimes for the family, but that was the main thing," Smith said. "I think Utah had a great school out there and great program, it was just inconvenient being where I was at so that was one of my big reasons."

Once realizing he needed to be closer to his family, Smith requested a release from Utah and called his high school coach telling him he wanted to transfer somewhere closer to home and immediately mentioned Tech to his coach so his coach called Jabbar Juluke.

"I have no regrets throughout the recruiting process. If I had someone who had gone through the process before me to help me out, it probably would have gone better but like I said there's no regrets. It's a business and you just have to learn the ins and outs of it. I'm content in where I'm at and just ready to play football at LA Tech."

"I just wanted to go to Tech. They throw the ball a lot over there and I think I'm going to do great there."

Playing running back for most of his life, Smith says his ability to run after the catch is his biggest strength. In the last Rivals.com ratings for the 2015 class, Smith was a 3-star wide receiver ranked as the 88th overall receiver and 39th best player in Louisiana.

Smith moves to Ruston Sunday and will check into his dorm room with the rest of the team as fall camp begins August 10. He plans to major in Nursing. Smith must sit out the 2015 season due to NCAA transfer rules.