There are decisions that come as a surprise and others that seemed to only be a matter of time before coming to fruition. Four-star offensive lineman Carde Smith's commitment to Colorado on Thursday night is among the latter group.

The 190th-ranked prospect in the 2025 class had been trending towards the Buffs for weeks, and he decided to join the commitment party for CU Thursday night following three other recruits' decisions on the Nightcap show with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco.

Smith, who had been committed to USC for months visited Colorado on multiple occasions during the season and made his choice Thursday night following his recent decision to back away from that pledge to the Trojans.

Smith is the fourth Rivals250 commitment for the Buffs in the 2025 class and the second of the night Thursday following an earlier pledge from Rivals100 defensive end and former Ohio State commit London Merritt.

Defensive end Alex McPherson and receiver Quentin Gibson also committed to the Buffs on the program Thursday evening.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound recruit became a top priority for offensive line coach Phil Loadholt this fall, and the Buffs continued to make a push for Smith as they continued to make a move up the standings.

It remained clear how much CU had prioritized him and eventually led to his decision to open up his recruitment though the Buffs remained the favorite.

"They want me bad," Smith previously told Rivals analyst Sam Spiegelman. "They have been pushing for me ever since they offered me, and ever since then it has been amazing. They have been reaching out at least once a week."

Smith's pledge, along with the other additions on Thanksgiving, helped move CU up over 30 spots in the Rivals team recruiting rankings to No. 40 overall for 2025.