this article was a great read it shows what troy smith is all about and why he will be successful in anything he does in life.
here is a link:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/sports/20070110/lopo10.art.htm
Smith: A trophy case of character
Heisman winner might have lost championship but maintained class
Commentary By Mike Lopresti
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Looking back, it was, "How to Set a Guy Up For Failure 101."
Hand him the Heisman Trophy, which history warns is like handing a bowl-bound quarterback the wrong end of a hot iron.
Put him in mothballs for seven weeks while the other team's mad scientist studies theories on how to stop him.
Have his top sidekick return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, then get hurt.
In other words, Troy Smith was a sitting duck in the desert the other night. Off he goes to the NFL, but he deserves a final ode.
"In this kind of situation, I'm a realist," Smith would say when Florida had its last ounce of Ohio State flesh. "I have an understanding that not everything in life is going to go the exact same way that you want it to."
The first instinct is to simply throw Smith onto the pile of other Heisman bowl-game natural disasters. There with Vinny Testaverde, Jason White, Eric Crouch and … oh, the list seems endless.
What is it about that statue that it turns bowl games into the Bermuda Triangle?
This century, Heisman winners are 2-5 in bowls. All time, they are 22-25. Miami (Fla.)'s Testaverde threw five interceptions, Oklahoma's White was 13-for-37, Nebraska's Crouch was 5-for-15 with two giveaways. Chris Weinke's Florida State team lost 13-2; Miami's Gino Torretta threw 32 incompletions and three interceptions.
At low tide in the 1990s, Heisman winners lost their bowl games by consecutive scores of 65-14, 34-14 and 34-13.
Whether it is because of distraction or pressure or too many banquet chicken dinners or faulty voting, come bowl season Heisman winners often produce numbers that get looked at like a skunk at a wedding.
Smith suffered, even by Heisman hex standards: 4-for-14 for 35 yards passing, minus 29 yards rushing. That's 6 net yards of total offense.
And yet that can't be seen as his final image. After the clock stopped late Monday and the cameras were turned off and the Gators were showered with enough confetti to cover Gainesville, Smith stepped in front of the public to take the bullet. A true leader, even though Ohio State was mashed. Maybe a true leader, especially because Ohio State was mashed.
Smith took his leave with accountability: "The other guys, my seniors, I want to apologize to them because I wasn't able to send them out on the right note. … I have to take all the blame in the world for that."
And perspective: "If this is the worst thing that happens to us in life, then I'm pretty cool."
And class: "Can't say enough about the University of Florida and their play. When you are going into a game like this and lose this way, obviously you lost this way for a reason."
And maturity: "After this point, your true character comes out. I'm a big fan of college football. I love everything about it. Wouldn't have it any other way. But this really makes you grow up."
So Florida went home Tuesday to celebrate, which is starting to become a Gators habit — Urban Meyer is not even the first person in his neighborhood with a national championship, because Billy Donovan is two doors down.
Troy Smith was left to explain what went wrong and made no excuses.
Monday night probably cost him money, as pro football's draft gurus study the film looking for new flaws.
Jim Tressel said recently that NFL scouts will have to be paying attention, because some of Smith's leadership abilities can't be seen in an all-star game or combine.
On the field Monday, Smith never looked worse. Amid the Buckeyes debris, he has seldom looked better. Can college football be prouder than when it raises a young man who is made of something?
