LightningRod
Legend
Looks as if Sander is generating some serious draft interest.
Combine Notes from DDN
Tressel needs to hire Will Smith's grandma as the next coach.
Grandma Smith Knows Best
Don’t be surprised if the Redskins draft Ohio State punter B.J. Sander. They would take him home today if they could. Word is that Sander put on a kicking clinic during his workout and members of the Redskins organization were blown away with the performance.
Combine Notes from DDN
Tressel needs to hire Will Smith's grandma as the next coach.
Grandma Smith Knows Best
OSU's Smith glad he listened to grandma
Returning to Buckeyes helped his draft status
By Chick Ludwig
Dayton Daily News
Sunday, February 22, 2004
INDIANAPOLIS -- Will Smith's mind was made up. It was January 2003, Ohio State had just won the national championship and he was going, going, gone to the NFL.
Too many former teammates already were in the league. Too much money was about to be placed on the table. Too many good times and quarterback sacks were ahead. The junior defensive end from Utica, N.Y., was ready to say, "Goodbye, Columbus."
That's when Nancy Smith put her foot down. After all, grandma knows best.
Looking back, Big Will can chuckle about it now. But a year ago, it wasn't very funny.
"It wasn't an argument," Smith said. "She just told me, 'You should go back to school.' I was thinking, 'No, I don't want to.' I wanted to leave real bad. It was hard because you just won the national championship. What else can you do? I thought it was time to move on.
"The other side of it is: You can stay and try and repeat, and have another great year. I thought about it a lot and decided it was best to stay another year in school. That's what I did. I came back and had another good year."
The NFL projected Smith as a late first-round draft pick or early second-rounder last year. After generating 20 tackles for loss in 2003, including 10.5 sacks, the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder is rated the No. 1 defensive end in the April 24-25 NFL Draft.
Was it worth it to stay in school and hone that talent?
"Yes, it was," said Smith, who is 25 credit hours away from a bachelor's degree as a criminology major. "I think I got better. I got an opportunity to work on a couple things. I didn't think my run defense was as good as it should have been, and I got to beef up a little, gain a little bit more muscle and work on the run."
Smith isn't your standard-issue long, lean, pass-rushing machine. You must take out the long and lean part. What he possesses is strength and quickness. He sheds blockers well with his strong hands, is a tower of power at the point of attack and shows explosiveness off the line of scrimmage.
"I want to be the first guy off the ball attacking the offensive lineman," Smith said. "We work a lot on the first step. I have that down pretty well. But it takes a combination. You've got to be able to rush the passer, stop the run, be able to make plays from the backside and you've just always got to go 110 percent.
"I can bring the ability to stop the run, the ability to get after the passer and I'm just a great team leader. I don't think a lot of guys out there can actually do both. You get the really big guy that can stop the run or you get a really skinny guy that can pass rush. I'm kind of in between."
Smith, who studies film of future Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, has received plenty of advice in recent months. Joel Segal of Miami Beach, Fla., is his agent and advisor. Former Buckeye roommate Kenny Peterson, a third-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2003, is another confidant.
"He said it's a hard league," Smith said. "You're going up against a lot of guys that have equal talent. You've just got to outwork 'em."
But the best advice of all came from grandma. The difference between a low first-rounder and a top-15 pick is millions of dollars. She surely deserves a portion of that signing bonus, eh?
"Absolutely," Smith said. "I'm going to help my family out, especially my grandmother."