Early Signing Period: 3-Star RB Jahmir Smith to Notre Dame

Jahmir Smith’s mom said she almost wrecked her truck when her son told her Brown — the Ivy League institution — offered him a scholarship.

“I was that excited,” Monique McLean told the News & Observer.

Smith scored a 25 on his ACT — which puts him in the top 20 percent of all test-takers — and carried a 4.43 GPA in addition to being a top athlete, so it’s probably no surprise that offers from Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, UPenn and Columbia followed.

Smith has twin dreams: either to make it to the NFL or, failing that, to graduate Notre Dame with honors and eventually become an anesthesiologist. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he said, offered him the best opportunity to chase both goals simultaneously.

Smith prides himself on a “downhill attack,” which will be music to the ears of fans frustrated by Notre Dame’s sometimes east-west running.

“It’s power football. If you keep hitting somebody, they don’t want to get hit,” Smith said in an interview.

The Sanford, N.C. product rushed for more than 4,000 yards and for 68 touchdowns in two years at Lee County High School.

The Irish will enter 2018 with senior Dexter Williams, juniors Tony Jones Jr. and Deon McIntosh and sophomore C.J. Holmes in the running back room. Josh Adams has not exhausted his eligibility, but may enter the NFL Draft instead of returning.

In addition to his signing today, Smith is expected to be one of seven early enrollees in the recruiting class.