Former Texas commit Durham Smythe set to visit Stanford

Now the top uncommitted tight end prospect in the country by 247Sports, 2013 Belton (TX) tight end Durham Smythe is getting ready to set up his official visits:

At this point, Stanford may be the favorite, as the Cardinal were one of the finalists for Smythe back in March when he originally committed to the Longhorns. An official visit out to Palo Alto would be his second trip to Stanford for the consensus three-star prospect.

The race for Smythe came down to Stanford and Texas months ago, when he had extremely positive things to say ($) about the Stanford program:

I was really impressed with Stanford. They had a beautiful campus. Their football program continues to get better, which is always good. It’s a great school for academics as well, just like Texas.

Among the 10 current pledges for Stanford, two of them are tight ends. However, with the power-rushing attack run by head coach David Shaw that uses multiple tight ends, H-backs, and fullbacks on any given play, the need is apparently great enough to justify taking a third player at the position int he 2013 class.

In the week after decommitting, the 6-5, 230-pounder received in-home visits ($) from Stanford and Florida.

Notre Dame was a school that was also high on Smythe’s list originally, but it appears that the Irish may not have room to take the Belton product, as they already have two tight ends committed in the 2013 class.

As for the other four schools mentioned, Smythe does have four official visits he can take other than the one to Stanford, as he declined to take his official visit to Texas, a telling sign that he was about ready to decommit.

The local school, Baylor, which is only 44 miles away from Belton, may be surging into contention after receiving an unofficial visit only two days after Smythe decommitted from Texas. If proximity was a factor in his first decision, being able to stay close to home and play for the Bears could be a factor in his second decision.