Standout Byron defensive lineman Jaymeson Smith makes college commitment

Jul. 8—BYRON — Jaymeson Smith was content to take his time choosing a college football program.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive end/tight end had four Division II offers on the table and one from a Division I school.

He was leaning a little heavier toward one program and school in particular.

So, when the University of Minnesota Duluth coaching staff presented an enticing offer to Smith, he couldn’t refuse.

The Bulldogs staff had one defensive end spot left to fill in their 2027 recruiting class, and they wanted the rising senior at Byron High School to fill it.

Smith’s recruiting timeline kicked into hyperspeed.

“I’m happy to have the recruiting process done,” Smith said. “I could have waited a little longer, but UMD was only taking one more defensive end, so it made the decision easier.”

Smith announced his decision to play at UMD, for head coach Curt Wiese, defensive coordinator Trey Dill and the Bulldogs, on June 26. That was just more than a week after Byron attended the first of three high school team camp sessions the Bulldogs’ coaching staff runs in June. Byron won the King of the Hill battle — where teams hold their position on the field by gaining 5 yards or by stopping the opposing offense from gaining 5 yards on one play — at its camp session.

“I really like the culture they’ve built up there and I love that area of Minnesota. It’s beautiful up there,” Smith said. “I talked a lot with coach Dill, and all of the coaches really stood out to me. I talked to them quite a bit at camp, but mostly when I was up there for their Junior Day. I really liked how they made their Junior Day more individualized and let us get to know the coaches personally.”

Smith will head to Duluth a year from now, where he anticipates playing a versatile defensive end/edge rusher position, though playing on the offensive side of the ball isn’t out of the question. The Bulldogs staff expressed to Smith that they are excited about his height and length, and his ability to showcase himself as a pass-rushing defensive end while also possessing the speed to play outside linebacker and cover opposing tight ends.

“They’re looking at me as more of a 2-point stance, coming off the edge, mostly a pass rusher,” Smith said, “but I can also work in the flats and play a little bit of an edge/linebacker (hybrid) type of role. It probably won’t be a whole lot of inside movement on the line.”

Smith — who also held offers from Division I University of Northern Iowa, and Division II schools Southwest Minnesota State, University of Sioux Falls and Wayne State University — recorded 36 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks last year as a junior, as Byron went 9-1 overall and fell by just three points to rival Kasson-Mantorville in the Section 1, Class 4A championship game.

Smith said he hopes to enter his senior season closer to 220 pounds, and would like to add another 10 pounds on top of that before he heads to Duluth. He is coming off a strong track and field season, in which he set personal bests in the long jump and discus. He has spent much of this summer working out with trainers from ETS Performance, who run workouts at Byron High School in the summer months.

He’ll be joined by some familiar faces when he arrives at UMD: Carter Geerts, a 6-3, 290-pound offensive lineman, is a 2023 Byron graduate. He was named First Team All-NSIC last fall for the Bulldogs, who went 10-2 and reached the NCAA Division II tournament. Carter Meincke, a 2026 Byron graduate, will be a freshman at UMD this fall, and Beau Nicklay, a classmate of Smith’s, will join him at UMD as a freshman in the fall of 2027.

Tight end Caleb Bancroft of Stewartville and wide receiver Adam Poncelet from Goodhue are also on the UMD roster.

“I’m definitely glad that a couple of my teammates will be up there, too,” Smith said. “I talked a little bit with (Meincke) about it and he had great things to say, that he loves it there.

“I’ve learned a lot from the last couple groups of seniors. Most of them have gone to state and been on state-contending teams. They’ve taught us how to be winners and how to carry ourselves.”