Mike Smith was starting to feel like he was in high school again.
Before his senior year at Columbia, Smith made it know he was entering the transfer portal and would finish his career elsewhere as a graduate transfer. As soon as the 2019-20 campaign ended, he heard from some assistant coaches but wasn’t directly contacted by any head coaches — which was the same case when he was being recruited out of Fenwick High in Illinois.
That all changed when Michigan coach Juwan Howard, a swell of fan support and a Big Ten opportunity entered the picture.