Brett Smith.. early first rounder?

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MrTitleist
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J-Rod
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And......the hype machine is in full-effect. That's a big stretch, borderline absurd......lets see him do it again in 2012 before projecting what he does in 2015.
OrediggerPoke
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The quote says "future early round talent"...to me that implies the first 2-3 rounds of the NFL draft and not early first round.

I think it is possible to go in the "early rounds", but obviously he has a long ways to go.
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J-Rod
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OrediggerPoke wrote:The quote says "future early round talent"...to me that implies the first 2-3 rounds of the NFL draft and not early first round.

I think it is possible to go in the "early rounds", but obviously he has a long ways to go.
Yeah, the tweet does say that. That isn't completely crazy.....still a massive long shot (spread offense, still has long ways to go with throwing ability)......but its not as crazy as early 1st rounder. That suggests a Top-10 pick......even the most face-in-the-ground kool-aid drunk Poke fan would have to refrain from that prophecy....
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J-Rod wrote:
OrediggerPoke wrote:The quote says "future early round talent"...to me that implies the first 2-3 rounds of the NFL draft and not early first round.

I think it is possible to go in the "early rounds", but obviously he has a long ways to go.
Yeah, the tweet does say that. That isn't completely crazy.....still a massive long shot (spread offense, still has long ways to go with throwing ability)......but its not as crazy as early 1st rounder. That suggests a Top-10 pick......even the most face-in-the-ground kool-aid drunk Poke fan would have to refrain from that prophecy....
I know of a few Hawaii fans who are like that. Damned annoying imho.
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MrTitleist
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I think I mistitled this thread, typing in a hurry. I meant early rounder, not first rounder.
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Wyokie
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MrTitleist wrote:I think I mistitled this thread, typing in a hurry. I meant early rounder, not first rounder.
That would help. :rofl: :rofl:
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J-Rod wrote:
OrediggerPoke wrote:The quote says "future early round talent"...to me that implies the first 2-3 rounds of the NFL draft and not early first round.

I think it is possible to go in the "early rounds", but obviously he has a long ways to go.
Yeah, the tweet does say that. That isn't completely crazy.....still a massive long shot (spread offense, still has long ways to go with throwing ability)......but its not as crazy as early 1st rounder. That suggests a Top-10 pick......even the most face-in-the-ground kool-aid drunk Poke fan would have to refrain from that prophecy....
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He simply doesn't have the NFL arm strength. Hate to say it but it's true. Brett Smith reminds me of Danny Wuerffel who was an outstanding college "system" QB but with a weak arm. Precision and touch are more smiths passing style.
I'm good for 3!
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Cornpoke wrote:He simply doesn't have the NFL arm strength. Hate to say it but it's true. Brett Smith reminds me of Danny Wuerffel who was an outstanding college "system" QB but with a weak arm. Precision and touch are more smiths passing style.
It's not that I disagree, I just don't think we know what Smith's arm strength will be 3 years down the line. Rumor has it he has been zinging it during summer workouts. And it isn't a secret he played with a sore thumb last year that probably affected his long passes.

During the Nebraska game he hit Mazi in stride 50+ yards down the field.
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The first thing I noticed last year was his impressive arm strength in his first game as a freshman! I remember saying to my buddies that if he improves like he should that his arm may make Bramlett's look like a noodle arm.

At the end of the year, we were all like WTF with his downfield floaters. Now we know that it was the thumb injury. I think it would be very unfair to judge his arm strength during the time of his injury.
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I'm no expert, but I've been saying this to my buddies since I first saw the kid in person. I think it's very realistic for Smith to be an early round pick (NOT a first round pick though).

I think the thumb injury last season hampered him more than any of us want to admit or will ever know. He looked pretty good in the first couple of games, and then started throwing the long ball high and much softer. I have a feeling we'll all be pleasantly surprised with Smith and his arm this year, as long as we can get a few more receivers to catch the ball. I know I'm looking forward to it.

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JimmyDimes wrote:
Cornpoke wrote:He simply doesn't have the NFL arm strength. Hate to say it but it's true. Brett Smith reminds me of Danny Wuerffel who was an outstanding college "system" QB but with a weak arm. Precision and touch are more smiths passing style.
It's not that I disagree, I just don't think we know what Smith's arm strength will be 3 years down the line. Rumor has it he has been zinging it during summer workouts. And it isn't a secret he played with a sore thumb last year that probably affected his long passes.

During the Nebraska game he hit Mazi in stride 50+ yards down the field.
That is true and I hope it's the case. He's got 3 years to prove to me wrong and I hope he does! :cool:
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OrediggerPoke wrote:The first thing I noticed last year was his impressive arm strength in his first game as a freshman! I remember saying to my buddies that if he improves like he should that his arm may make Bramlett's look like a noodle arm.

At the end of the year, we were all like WTF with his downfield floaters. Now we know that it was the thumb injury. I think it would be very unfair to judge his arm strength during the time of his injury.
It's just waaay too early to tell if B Smitty is going to be a high draft pick or not - he hasn't even gone into fall practice for his sophomore year yet. I agree with Oredigger about judging his passing in the last half of last year with the thumb injury. I challenge anyone out there to go out and throw an accurate 50 yard pass with some zip on it with an injured thumb on the throwing hand.
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Looking at the college landscape there just isn't much at brett's age to compare against. There are other kids brett's age riding pine, and we will not know completely how he rates until his junior and senior seasons.

but remember a few things...

Brett's the current record holder for freshman qb's in the weight room. he didn't set it at the end of the season either. He broke the record last summer. He is plently strong. I don't see problems with his arm strength, its his throwing delivery that gets him in trouble.

but on the basis that right now Smith is rough around the edges, he has a very high ceiling potential for growth. Physically, he has the height required to keep scouts off his back. He needs to add 15 pounds, but as a sophmore it is expected for him to fill that requirement by next summer. He has great feet and stride, but more importantly it shows scouts that he can escape a rush. Most nfl teams don't want a run first qb.

Brett's most appealing trait for scouts... its his moxy and ability to use his brain to make quick decisions. What will be most scrutinized is his completion percentage at different down's and distances. A qb's ability to make the right throw for the current down and distance... its so hard to develop that knowledege. As a freshman, he stood out (18yrs old) with his ability to make this happen, especially in critical drives.

back to his arm strength... how can i describe this? getting a rating of superior arm strength isn't about throwing it 70 yards. its about how the ball gets from point A to point B. is the ball rising quickly out of the hand? does the ball have a tight spiral, is the ball hitting the target window when the reciever is present?

to me, smith's best and most telling throws came in abundance. I can remember mcneil catching one over the middle on third and 13 early in the season. Smith nailed it. later in the drive, threw another stike over the middle. Or rufran's catch over the middle where he wasn't quite fast enough to outrun people for the score. Or the strike to herron against texas st that he turned upfield and scored. to deliver the ball like that as a freshman is rarely seen guys. honestly.

his injury obviously hindered his ability to make consistant throws towards the end of the season. You guys know what his injury was right? A circulation problem... it caused his hand to remain numb most of the time. He couldn't feel parts of his hand, meaning he couldn't feel the ball, causing grip problems... which showed in the ball's lack of spiral.

We got a good one. If he develops at the normal curve, with his current knowledge and strengths, I do believe he will get drafted nlt round three.
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Cornpoke wrote:
JimmyDimes wrote:
Cornpoke wrote:He simply doesn't have the NFL arm strength. Hate to say it but it's true. Brett Smith reminds me of Danny Wuerffel who was an outstanding college "system" QB but with a weak arm. Precision and touch are more smiths passing style.
It's not that I disagree, I just don't think we know what Smith's arm strength will be 3 years down the line. Rumor has it he has been zinging it during summer workouts. And it isn't a secret he played with a sore thumb last year that probably affected his long passes.

During the Nebraska game he hit Mazi in stride 50+ yards down the field.
That is true and I hope it's the case. He's got 3 years to prove to me wrong and I hope he does! :cool:
one intangible brett has is the fact that when someone tells him he can't do something he doesn't listen
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J-Rod
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Arm strength is one of the most debated topics among draft-caliber QBs. It isn't just how about how far you can throw, its about how you can get it there.

I remember watching this pass from Cam Newton last season. Cam, with a blitz in his face, simply flicks his wrist and accurately delivers a 48 yard strike to Steve Smith. Most college QBs have to poop their pants just to get the ball to go that far. That's arm strength.

Brett has a lot more than just that to work with. He is a very talented runner, but in the NFL that is greatly discouraged unless you're 6-5+ 250lbs+. Which means Brett has to work on his pocket presence. Its easy to get hurt while running, which is another worry for this season.

Overall, lets take it slow with Brett. He had games last season that showed why he is special (San Diego State, Air Force, TCU, etc.) and games that displayed why he still has a lot of growing to do as a player (Utah State, Boise State, Colorado State, Temple, etc.). Lets let him hurdle the Sophomore jinx first before we put him in an echelon that might be an NFL starting QB.
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