absinthe

Jimmy Smith - Colorado Corner-back Prospect 2011 NFL Draft


Jimmy Smith was another surprise out of Dan Hawkins' transition class of 2006, like Nate Solder Jimmy was a middle of the pack recruit out of his home state (#57 Athlete by rivals and unranked as a corner by ESPN) that grew into a first round prospect on a series of very mediocre CU teams. Smith was named a starter with three games left in his red-shirt sophomore season and from then on never relinquished his starting position at Corner-back. Over his Jr. Season Jimmy matured into a shutdown corner who lead the team in interceptions and was so highly regarded by scouts for his blend of size and speed that he even toyed with entering the draft last year.

An early look back At Jimmy Smith:
- Our recruiting profile
- Scout.com ranked him as the No. 53 safety in the nation, while Rivals.com pegged him at No. 57 in the athlete category (and as the No. 64 overall prospect in California). A three-year letterman in football, he was first-team All-Southeastern Conference on both offense (wide receiver) and defense (cornerback) as a senior. He was named first-team all-county and his team's most improved player.
- Talent and a love of the game are Smith family traits. Four of Smith's brothers played college football: Paul Smith (New Mexico), Anthony Smalls (Idaho State), Ryan Smalls (Millikin) and Terrance Smalls (Illinois). Jimmy Smith was the only member of the family switched from offense to defense -- a move that he should be glad he made.

Jimmy Smith's CU Career:
Smith sat out the 2006 season, red-shirting and taking the time to fully transition to defense, practicing all season in the secondary. By 2007 Jimmy had firmly established himself as a contributor, a special teams star, and as part of the secondary depth. By far the biggest play of his 2007 season came against the huskers, with momentum heading NU's way and the Buffs trailing by 11 Smith picked off a Joe Ganz pass and took it 31 yards to the house sparking a 34-0 run and swinging the game back in CU's favor in what would eventually turn out to be a 65-51 CU win. Jimmy built nicely on his RS-Freshman effort playing in 10 games for CU and starting the final three at corner, a position he'd hold through the rest of his CU career. Again Smith closed the season with fireworks against Nebraska sniffing out an ill-advised fake field goal attempt by the huskers, intercepting the lateral and taking it 58 yards to the house. Things continued to progress well for Smith who took over the starting corner spot full time at the start of his Jr. season, holding it through his last game at CU in that 2 year 24 game run Jimmy gave up an average of 1 completion a game. During that span Smith made quite a name for himself totaling 70 tackles in both seasons defending 15 passes and posing such a threat to offenses he was thrown at a mere 20 times as a Senior in man coverage. In that time Smith was honored as: All-big 12 twice, the Dave Jones award winner, and was named to the Thorpe Award watch list.

Jimmy Smith in the draft class:
Jimmy Smith has be streaking up draft boards despite not playing at the senior bowl. His size for a corner, and his blend of speed and strength have scouts drooling over him as the answer to the issues posed by giant receivers like Brandon Marshal and Calvin Johnson. Jimmy plays as big and physical as he looks, he deals well in run support, and can dominate in man coverage. If there are any knocks on him (and none are major) it is that he is still growing as a leader, can have a hard time getting off blocks, and needs to improve his open field tackling (like almost anyone who played for Hawk does).



Some more links to Jimmy's success at CU and his rapidly rising draft stock:

Jimmy Smith's NFL draft stock:
http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.p...e-draft-charts
http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.p...he-NFL-Combine
http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.p...N-s-Mock-Draft

Jimmy Smith's on field success at CU:
http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.p...es-Thorpe-list
http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.p...g-12-SB-Nation