Sean Smith, cb/safety, Utah
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Smith's big combine task: Prove he has NFL cover speedFeb. 23, 2009
By Pete Prisco
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
INDIANAPOLIS -- They preach getting bigger to players all the time in the NFL. Grow. Get bigger. Eat better. Fill out.
Utah corner Sean Smith is hearing a different tune as he readies to enter the league.
Sean Smith certainly has corner swagger: 'On the field, my playmaking ability is like no other.' (Getty Images)
"I've had a couple teams tell me I need to get my weight down, which I agree," he said. "But at the same time, if I can run and move, it shouldn't be any problem."
He is 6-feet-3, 214 pounds. That's a huge corner. A few years ago teams craved bigger corners.
Now they want speedy, lean cover machines.
Smith is by far the biggest corner in the draft. If he started next season as a rookie, he'd be the biggest starting corner in the league. Most corners are 6-foot or smaller. Some are 6-1. But there were no corners bigger than him starting in the NFL last season.
The reason is that some scouts doubt that bigger corners can turn their hips and run the way some of the smaller corners do. So what does Smith need to do to convince people he's a corner?
"Run fast," Smith said. "Plain and simple. I'm one of the biggest corners here. So I definitely have to prove to NFL teams that I can run."
A few years back, teams craved bigger corners to match up with the bigger receivers. They became vogue. Replacing that trend was a more reasonable one: Just get me somebody who can cover.
Smith can do that, but the question is whether it's at corner or safety. If he shows well enough in the position drills here at the scouting combine or at his Pro Day workout in March, he'll be a corner. If he struggles with his turning and running and fluidness, he'll be a safety.
Either way, he's OK with it -- although he prefers corner. Asked where he wanted to play, he said, "Corner," emphatically. But ....
"I have no problem moving inside to safety," he said.
That's combine prepare-speak for he's a team player.
Safety has become a glamour spot again in the NFL with players like Ed Reed, Bob Sanders, Adrian Wilson and Troy Polamalu. But it's still not the value position of corner.
In an era of more throwing, the cover corner is even more valuable.
"Back there (safety) you roam around or get in the box," Smith said. "If you're an athlete you can play anywhere in the secondary. It doesn't matter where I play. It all depends on how fast I run and how well I can open my hips up. That will determine where I wind up in the secondary."
The Pasadena, Calif., native playing running back in high school but wasn't recruited much and ended up at Utah. He went there as a runner, moved to receiver and eventually settled in at corner as a redshirt freshman.
Two good seasons as a starter allowed him to make the decision to leave Utah after his junior season.
"It's always been a dream of mine to help my mother," Smith said. "Growing up, it was me, her and my two younger sisters, and she sacrificed so much for us to make sure we had the best things in life."
So what's he going to get Mom?
"Whatever she likes," he said. "I definitely want to put her in a better environment."
Don't worry, son. You're about to get paid in a big way. That size will help come draft day, especially if Smith runs the 4.3 40 he thinks he can run. The prediction here is that by draft day he will be moving toward the middle of the first round.
A few years ago, Oregon State had a corner named Brandon Browner who was a big corner at 6-4. But he didn't run and move like Smith. That's why he wasn't drafted. He's now playing in Canada, where he was named All-CFL.
That's not where Smith is going. He's a much better player. Just ask him.
"On the field, my playmaking ability is like no other," Smith said. "My height-speed combination is like no other."
Seems his ego is as big as he is. But that's OK. He's a corner, who also happens to have big skills to go with that big body.
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WOW...dude is 6'3 214 corner.....just ran a 4.47. I believe you found a sleeper...at least to me...damn nice at safety too!!! Just made a huge jump!
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WOW...dude is 6'3 214 corner.....just ran a 4.47. I believe you found a sleeper...at least to me...damn nice at safety too!!! Just made a huge jump!
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I had him in my dumb way too early mock draft way back.
Sean Smith ran a 4.47 ? Very cool. I would draft this kid with our second round pick every time. I would even consider
trading back up to get him. He goes to Balt or Pitt and becomes a star at safety, and ..
well, there's going to be some serious disappointment gonna happen every time we play them.
But I think Balt and Pitt will draft offensive linemen.
Except Mathews and Cushing may now be in the latter part of the first round, too...
trade down, get more picks.
Camp trade down may break a record for members this spring...
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I'm just really impressed with the kid. I missed that video, THANKS, T !
Since he ran a 4.49 at the comine, ... I would take him over my favorite OT from S. Carolina in the second.
But now, He may very well not be there at all. Oh, please, Detroit, trade us your second round pick for DA....
I'd love to have a second first round pick toward the bottom of the first round, or even
Detroit's first pick in the second.
I wonder what Detroit can afford if they take Stafford in the first, and can still pay their first round #20 and their second
round first pick overall.. Maybe they are short on $$$$, maybe ... eh, just wishful thinkin.
I hope the Browns can make a few moves.
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