Tribal Warfare
02-27-2011, 02:25 AM
Former MU star Smith has gift for rushing passers (http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/26/2684908/former-mu-star-smith-has-gift.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
INDIANAPOLIS | Shortly after his first football game at Raytown High School, Aldon Smith realized he had a gift for football few others have.
More correctly, he was made to realize it.
“I think it was after my first sack,” Smith said. “My coach just kind of yelled at me and let me know everything. He pulled me aside after my first game and told me I had a little special ability.
“To some people it’s natural and to some it takes learning.”
Smith’s ability, which comes naturally to him, is to rush the quarterback, which is making him a popular player at the NFL scouting combine. Twenty-eight of the 32 NFL teams have either interviewed Smith or arranged to do so. The other four passed probably because he will be out of their range, which should be the early to middle part of the first round in the draft.
It all started at Raytown, where he played for two seasons. It continued at Missouri, where he set a school record for sacks with 11 1/2 as a redshirt freshman in 2009.
“Aldon, he’s a freak,” said quarterback Blaine Gabbert, his Missouri teammate and a probable first-round draft pick himself. “I’ve known Aldon since high school. I’ve seen the transition he’s made coming from a 220-pound end out of Kansas City and now he’s close to 270 pounds. And just seeing him play on the football field is pretty special. The things he can do for how big he is, it’s pretty crazy to watch.”
Smith had only the one big season at Missouri. He missed three games and was otherwise limited in many of those he did play in last season because of a broken bone in his leg.
Still, Smith is drawing comparisons to great NFL pass rushers such as former Tennessee Titan Jevon Kearse, who had 36 sacks in his first three seasons; Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware, who has 80 sacks in his six NFL seasons; and the Jets’ Jason Taylor, eighth on the NFL’s all-time sack list.
“He’s about as raw a prospect as you’re going to find,” said Shawn Zobel, who runs a draft website at www.draftheadquarters.com. “He isn’t even close to reaching his potential. Once he does that, I could see him being as good as Jevon Kearse was early in his career.”
There are risks to Smith. He’s seen as a one-dimensional player. He played just two seasons at Missouri and was injured for a large part of one.
“I’ve gone back and forth on him a little bit because he’s not great versus the run,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “He’s a very difficult player to evaluate. Part of it is because of the durability (question). I went back and watched tape of the 2009 season and he’s clearly going more often at 100 miles per hour versus this past year.
“The bottom line is that he can get after the quarterback. He has a lot of room for improvement. He has to get stronger. He has to play with better leverage. He has to do a better job of playing against the run. But when you can get after the quarterback the way he does, NFL teams love that. It’s one of the most important things in the game, getting pressure on the quarterbacks, and he really can do it.”
NFL teams have to decide whether Smith, who weighed 264 pounds at the combine, is better as a defensive end in the 4-3 system or as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 such as the Chiefs use.
If Smith works out well at the combine and at Missouri’s pro day next month and proves he has the ability to play some in pass coverage, he will make himself more attractive to NFL teams.
“I just need to be myself and just show my athleticism,” Smith said. “Everybody’s talented in different ways and I think the thing that separates me is me being athletic.”
Smith also needs to show he’s recovered from the injury that caused him to miss games last season and play at something less than full speed in others.
“The leg’s fine,” he said. “I got some X-rays (Saturday), actually. This is the first time I’ve seen my leg since I was back in school. It looked good to me and to the doctor.”
Some NFL team will make the final determination on Smith and his football ability. If he is drafted in the top 10, it will probably be with the hope his pass-rush ability gets him through the early part of his career with the rest of his game developing later.
“The toughest, the consistency, that’s going to be an issue,” said McShay, who sees Smith as a defensive end. “I don’t know that he’s a perfect fit playing defensive end every single down right away. But I think he can become an impact player as a defensive end and outside pass rusher in the league if he pulls it all together.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
INDIANAPOLIS | Shortly after his first football game at Raytown High School, Aldon Smith realized he had a gift for football few others have.
More correctly, he was made to realize it.
“I think it was after my first sack,” Smith said. “My coach just kind of yelled at me and let me know everything. He pulled me aside after my first game and told me I had a little special ability.
“To some people it’s natural and to some it takes learning.”
Smith’s ability, which comes naturally to him, is to rush the quarterback, which is making him a popular player at the NFL scouting combine. Twenty-eight of the 32 NFL teams have either interviewed Smith or arranged to do so. The other four passed probably because he will be out of their range, which should be the early to middle part of the first round in the draft.
It all started at Raytown, where he played for two seasons. It continued at Missouri, where he set a school record for sacks with 11 1/2 as a redshirt freshman in 2009.
“Aldon, he’s a freak,” said quarterback Blaine Gabbert, his Missouri teammate and a probable first-round draft pick himself. “I’ve known Aldon since high school. I’ve seen the transition he’s made coming from a 220-pound end out of Kansas City and now he’s close to 270 pounds. And just seeing him play on the football field is pretty special. The things he can do for how big he is, it’s pretty crazy to watch.”
Smith had only the one big season at Missouri. He missed three games and was otherwise limited in many of those he did play in last season because of a broken bone in his leg.
Still, Smith is drawing comparisons to great NFL pass rushers such as former Tennessee Titan Jevon Kearse, who had 36 sacks in his first three seasons; Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware, who has 80 sacks in his six NFL seasons; and the Jets’ Jason Taylor, eighth on the NFL’s all-time sack list.
“He’s about as raw a prospect as you’re going to find,” said Shawn Zobel, who runs a draft website at www.draftheadquarters.com. “He isn’t even close to reaching his potential. Once he does that, I could see him being as good as Jevon Kearse was early in his career.”
There are risks to Smith. He’s seen as a one-dimensional player. He played just two seasons at Missouri and was injured for a large part of one.
“I’ve gone back and forth on him a little bit because he’s not great versus the run,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “He’s a very difficult player to evaluate. Part of it is because of the durability (question). I went back and watched tape of the 2009 season and he’s clearly going more often at 100 miles per hour versus this past year.
“The bottom line is that he can get after the quarterback. He has a lot of room for improvement. He has to get stronger. He has to play with better leverage. He has to do a better job of playing against the run. But when you can get after the quarterback the way he does, NFL teams love that. It’s one of the most important things in the game, getting pressure on the quarterbacks, and he really can do it.”
NFL teams have to decide whether Smith, who weighed 264 pounds at the combine, is better as a defensive end in the 4-3 system or as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 such as the Chiefs use.
If Smith works out well at the combine and at Missouri’s pro day next month and proves he has the ability to play some in pass coverage, he will make himself more attractive to NFL teams.
“I just need to be myself and just show my athleticism,” Smith said. “Everybody’s talented in different ways and I think the thing that separates me is me being athletic.”
Smith also needs to show he’s recovered from the injury that caused him to miss games last season and play at something less than full speed in others.
“The leg’s fine,” he said. “I got some X-rays (Saturday), actually. This is the first time I’ve seen my leg since I was back in school. It looked good to me and to the doctor.”
Some NFL team will make the final determination on Smith and his football ability. If he is drafted in the top 10, it will probably be with the hope his pass-rush ability gets him through the early part of his career with the rest of his game developing later.
“The toughest, the consistency, that’s going to be an issue,” said McShay, who sees Smith as a defensive end. “I don’t know that he’s a perfect fit playing defensive end every single down right away. But I think he can become an impact player as a defensive end and outside pass rusher in the league if he pulls it all together.”