a different angle. He could focus on one
point of the offense to make his reads as
a freshman. This year, he'll have to ex-
pand that tunnel vision to a panorama
to keep track of offensive linemen,
backfield action and receivers running
behind him in the passing game.
"It's really just every play starts with
sight," Smith said. "All my life I've seen
the game from an outside perspective,
so it's really just getting used to reading
offensive linemen from inside out."
Smith said he played inside line-
backer during one playoff game in his
high school career. Other than that, he's
had to worry only about reading offen-
sive players coming in one direction.
Once he sees the linemen, stopping
them could be an issue too. Notre
Dame's current linebacker corps as a
group is considerably smaller than in
years past. Smith is the heaviest of the
three projected starters at 235 pounds.
Mike linebacker Joe Schmidt weighs
230 pounds, and converted safety John
Turner, who took over Smith's spot at
the Sam position, was only 217 pounds
at the start of spring. By comparison,
last year's four starting linebackers av-
eraged 243 pounds. Smith was easily
the lightest of that bunch.
He gained at least 10 pounds during
his first year on campus, but Smith said
he has no plans to keep bulking up this
summer.
"I'm where I need to be," he said.
"I'm 235 and that's where I want to be.
I won't be getting any bigger. I want to
keep my speed."
If opposing offenses can't hide, he
doesn't want them to be able to run
either. ✦
1-800-421-7751 • www.BlueGoldOnline.com
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