Unlike the other cornerback that committed to Alabama on national signing day, Eddie Smith's announcement wasn't shown on national television and Twitter didn't explode once he made his commitment.

But Alabama likes the potential of this under-the-radar defensive back from Slidell, Louisiana.

Smith, a cousin of Crimson Tide national title game hero DeVonta Smith, felt like he should have been ranked higher than a three-star recruit. So did Alabama.

"When coach Saban came to my house, after watching my film, he said he was shocked that I was only a three-star and was shocked that I didn't have more offers than what I had," Smith said, "... He said he knows a lot about football and said he really liked my film and didn't understand why I was so underrated. He feels like I can do big things for Bama."

A former soccer player, Smith didn't focus solely on football until after his sophomore year of high school and didn't have many, if any, offers until early last year.

Smith committed to TCU last June but decommitted in December and ultimately chose the Tide over Mississippi State and Tennessee.

In all, Alabama signed five defensive backs in this year's recruiting class, including the two that committed on national signing day -- Smith and five-star Florida native Patrick Surtain.

One of the newcomers, JUCO transfer Saivion Smith, ended the spring as a first-team cornerback. Now, Surtain, Smith and the others will join the competition for spots on the two-deep for the Tide, which lost its top six defensive backs from last year.

Alabama coaches think the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Smith is capable of playing both cornerback and safety.

"They think he's versatile," said Smith's father, Eddie. "They liked his height. They liked his hips. They liked his speed. They just liked him (overall)."

Soon, Smith will have to cover his cousin, who helped prepare him for Alabama.

The two talked almost every day the past few months leading up to Eddie arriving in Tuscaloosa on Sunday.

DeVonta has told Eddie to expect a lot of running during summer workouts, which is why Eddie had been regularly running a mile after completing his normal workouts.

DeVonta has also shared other advice.

"He's told me that if I come work hard enough I can get that spot," Eddie said. "That's what he's been telling me. I wanted to be around somebody that I knew would push me. And I know, him being family, that he'll push me."

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.