Larry Smith's trip to West Lafayette this weekend wasn't a short one for the Jacksonville native, nor will be his list of interested schools.

But the Rivals.com four-star cornerback wanted to see Purdue.

"Mainly the coaching staff, they’ve showed a lot of interest in me ever since we got in touch," Smith said. "What set them apart was my first time ever talking to them, I talked to the entire staff, something a lot of teams haven’t done throughout my recruitment."

Smith's visit was part of Purdue's junior day event Friday night for the Boilermakers' basketball game vs. Wisconsin.

"They're concerned about me and my future both academically and sports-wise," Smith said of his impression of Purdue. "Their pitch to me was the fact that their cornerback coach, Greg Brown, is the only coach with three Jim Thorpe award winners under his belt and that definitely stood out to me as something that’s very positive about the staff and program, especially since I play defensive back."

The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder from Lee High School said Purdue, Duke, Mississippi and North Carolina are four of the schools he's looking closest at at this point.

"Definitely a school that I’m interested in," Smith said of Purdue. "I would say that they are one of my top choices in my recruitment."

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