Already Enrolled Freshman QB Brett Smith Info

[Wyoirish]

I have been digging information up on this kid as there is quite a lot of info on him, and the more and more that I find out the more and more I am thinking we got an absolute steal. He originally commited to San Jose State but was recruited by a lot of schools (Most of the Pac-10, Nevada, Wake Forest, Nebraska). He decommitted in August because of the WAC departures (Smart!). Wyoming was his first offer way back in May of last year. He was only ranked a 2-star by Rivals but I am thinking he is misranked. One only has to look at the recent CU QB commit Dorman. He has never been ranked as a player within Rivals, but all of the sudden gets an offer and commits to CU and becomes a 3 star recruit overnight. No wonder coaches don't put any merit in the star ranking system!

The awards and honors Smith has won is impressive:
2010 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year
2010 6A (Highest classification) 1st Team All State QB
2010 Oregon Preps.com 1st Team QB and 6th ranked player in the state of Oregon Rivals.com
2010 Oregon Regional Player of the Year and QB 1st Team
2010 All Central Valley Conference Player of the Year and Unanimous 1st Team QB

He holds 7 school records including most passing yards, most rushing yards, most passing TD's, most rushing TD's, scoring in a season, scoring in a career, single season TD's passing in a season. You can see this at his high school website which is one of the best HS websites I have ever seen.
http://www.titanfootballfamily.com/

He was the MVP at the Oregon Nike Camp last Summer and runner-up at Oregon State. Scout has him down as running a 4.5 in the 40 and has him as the #87 ranked QB in the country. He is the 15th ranked QB in the Western Region and the #5 ranked Dual Threat QB in the Western Region. He has been exclusively in the spread offense his whole high school career. He has been a three year starter at QB but played varsity as a freshman. His teams went to the play-offs 3 of 4 years and to the Sem-finals 2 of those years.

He has a youtube channel that has video from his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. Very good footage!
http://www.youtube.com/user/qbonesix

Great highlight video Maxpreps did of a game during the 2010 season. http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/Uavn_m ... -smith.htm

I even found a story of Smith playing a game his junior year with a broken throwing arm! Seems Cowboy tough!
http://highschoolsports.oregonlive.com/ ... play-hurt/

Here is an article that was written describing how he always wanted to be a QB. http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/S ... ing-better

It will remain to be seen but I think DC might have stumbled upon a great one before it's all said and done and I am looking forward to watching him and Miller compete this Spring. Go Pokes!

[fromolwyoming]

Well, like I said on the MWC board, it looks to be between Pittser and Smith. I look forward to it!

[cowboyz]

Right now it appears that Smith has a huge advantage over Pittser. Not only has he thrown the ball more in high, school, but he'll have spring practice s well. I can't see how Pittser could come in for fall practice and catch up. And Miller might beat them both.

[wyopokes2]

I have Smith in one of my classes and I didn't realize how much of an athlete he was till I read this. In class he seems like a pretty down to earth kid who loves the game.

[TheRealUW]

Right now it appears that Smith has a huge advantage over Pittser. Not only has he thrown the ball more in high, school, but he'll have spring practice s well. I can't see how Pittser could come in for fall practice and catch up. And Miller might beat them both.

I agree that Smith has a leg up on Pittser by being here for spring ball, but I still have a feeling Pittser will win the job in the fall. Smith may have more experience throwing the ball, but in watching film on these guys and talking to coaches in Illinois and Oregon, its clear that Pittser has the superior skills. Many people in Illinois strongly question how Pittser was utilized by his high school coach, as some of them believe Pittser is one of the top 5 QB's in the entire nation this year. That may sound like a stretch, but if you look at Pittser's performance at the Elite 11 QB camp, I think they have a valid point. Pittser made USC, Oklahoma, Auburn and many other BCS QB commits look like inferior QB's.

Also, recall that Robert Benjamin/ACS both showed up at UW in the fall and still managed to beat out 3 QB's who all had at least a full year in the program (2 of them even had starting experience). Granted, that was a little different situation since Banjamin and ACS were DC recruits and the other guys weren't, but it isn't impossible by any means. If Pittser keeps himself in good physical shape and does some mental preperation this spring with the playbook, I think he will catch up to Smith pretty quickly in the fall.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to take anything away from Smith. He seems like a tough kid who is really excited to be at UW. In the end, as long as one of the QB's step up and help us win some games, I'll be happy.

[Wyoirish]

I agree that Smith has a leg up on Pittser by being here for spring ball, but I still have a feeling Pittser will win the job in the fall. Smith may have more experience throwing the ball, but in watching film on these guys and talking to coaches in Illinois and Oregon, its clear that Pittser has the superior skills. Many people in Illinois strongly question how Pittser was utilized by his high school coach, as some of them believe Pittser is one of the top 5 QB's in the entire nation this year. That may sound like a stretch, but if you look at Pittser's performance at the Elite 11 QB camp, I think they have a valid point. Pittser made USC, Oklahoma, Auburn and many other BCS QB commits look like inferior QB's.

Also, recall that Robert Benjamin/ACS both showed up at UW in the fall and still managed to beat out 3 QB's who all had at least a full year in the program (2 of them even had starting experience). Granted, that was a little different situation since Banjamin and ACS were DC recruits and the other guys weren't, but it isn't impossible by any means. If Pittser keeps himself in good physical shape and does some mental preperation this spring with the playbook, I think he will catch up to Smith pretty quickly in the fall.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to take anything away from Smith. He seems like a tough kid who is really excited to be at UW. In the end, as long as one of the QB's step up and help us win some games, I'll be happy.

Good Points RealUW.

I'll tell you why I am skeptical of Pittser. There is NOTHING like gametime experience for a QB and nothing can simulate LB's or DL rush that is coming to take your head off and a QB must make quick and accurate decisions in the heat of a battle. That experience is NOTHING like Elite 11 experience where the QB's go out and throw to receivers and throw the ball threw hoops in shorts in the sunshine. I think it is a bit of a stretch for someone to annoint someone one of the country's best QB's based on three days of throwing routes against air. Pittser threw for 737 yards last year and 9 TD's while only rushing for 140 yards while spending his time exclusively under center. Smith threw for 2,200 yards and 26 TD's while also rushing for nearly 1,000 and 22 more TD's. The ESPN review on Pittser mentions that he is "not a dual-threat QB." In DC's offense, it is important for a QB to have the ability to tuck it and go sometimes, something that made ACS effective in his time in Laramie. I'm not sure Pittser has this aspect of his game developed, and not saying that he won't but he hasn't proven to this point as his offense hasn't allowed him to.

Another thing I found weird was watching the NUC All-Star game over the bowl season. Pittser was the last of 4 QB's to see action in that game, and he has a ranking according to Rivals and Scout higher than all of them. Not only that but after completing a couple of passes, and with a chance to win, the coach pulled him mid-drive and put in Michael Eubank from California and he won the game. I would like to know the reasoning for that. He wasn't hurt.

I believe most coaches have a pretty good eye for talent, especially QB's. If Pittser was so good and made the other big time program QB's in attendance look inferior, don't you think other big-time programs would have come calling? His offers were Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, and Illinois State. Smith's were not much better being from the WAC and Big Sky (Eastern Washington and Portland State) although Wyo coaches offered Smith first in May and Pittser in November. Both QB's had the misfortune of not having their home state schools offer them for whatever reason, which is odd. Oregon got their commits from Fla and HI and Oregon State got their's from TX. Illinois got an in-state QB named Riley O'Toole.

IF and only IF a true freshman ends up starting I don't see how it can be anyone else other than Smith. He will take plenty of snaps this Spring and the coaches will get a good feel for what he can bring to the table. I believe if he can lead the team and be successful, and comes out #1 in the Spring, because of his youth, DC and staff have to get him ready to start the season during Fall Camp and he will need all of the work as possible during the Fall. Most people know that most of Fall camp is game prep and solidifying units as opposed to evaluation. Most evaluation is done in the Spring. I personally think it's either Smith or Miller initially, and perhaps Pittser depending on how the first few games go. The good news is that we have experience returning in AA and he will help take the pressure off of our young QB's. I just can't see an open competition with three untested freshman QB. There isn't time. I could see that next Spring definitely.

Above all, I think it's awesome that we got two high caliber young true freshman QB's in Smith and Pittser, and RS Freshman Emory Miller and I believe all will help Wyo take that next step that we all would like to take. Both are, no doubt, competitors, and both I'm sure want the job, along with Miller. Here's hoping for brighter days ahead POST ACS! Go Pokes!

[WestSalemFootballFan]

I'm telling ya, and this is no slight to Pittser, Brett Smith has the heart of a champion. He's going to give this team everything, and they WILL respond to his enthusiasm. Hated to see him leave the state, but Oregon and Oregon State's loss will be Wyoming's HUGE gain. On and off the field, we the people of Oregon love Brett.

[WYCowboy]

While all the people of Wyoming and the fans of Wyoming probably don't know what we have in Brett Smith, many of us do know how fortunate we are to have him at the University of Wyoming. I believe he will be in great hands with Coach Dave Christensen and our new QB Coach and OC Greg Brandon. I'm excited for the Wyoming Cowboy's and Brett Smith's future here at UW. I'm very confident that within either this year or next year you will see him playing in a bowl game and it will just go up from there.

[roozy]

http://www.youtube.com/user/qbonesix

At 1:50 I thought he was off on his throw, but after looking at it a couple times, I realize that he led his receiver away from the defender for a safe throw and probably got a few more yards on the play....