Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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by the Rams in 1969), Jack Snow (eighth overall by the Vikings in 1965) and Monty Stickles (11th overall by the 49ers in 1960). Dating back to 2000, Floyd is the 12th wide receiver selected by the Cardinals in the NFL Draft, and he is the seventh wide receiver ever selected by the Cardi- nals in the first round. Dating back to 2007, Floyd now is the fifth wide receiver drafted under head coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves and the first selected before the third round. "I was excited when I got the call. I saw the 602 number coming in. I wanted to jump for joy, but I kept it calm," Floyd said. "I just wanted to put myself in the best position possible. I know I talked to Larry [Fitzgerald], and I know he wanted me there, but you never know how this draft is going to go. I'm just excited that I get the chance to play and to be an Arizona Cardinal." Dame uniform, a loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl that represented the last of many disappointments in his five-year stint in South Bend, the safety returned home to Knoxville, Tenn., and moved in with longtime trainer Charles Petrone. Petrone helped Smith choose Notre Dame and then made it his mission to help the former Fighting Irish captain realize an NFL dream. That dream came true when Smith was selected 29th overall in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Min- nesota Vikings. Following Smith's final game in a Notre SMITH AND BLANTON BOARD VIKINGS' SHIP Smith is the highest-drafted defensive player from Notre Dame since defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn was the 21st over- all selection by Jacksonville in the 1997 draft. Smith is also the highest-drafted Notre Dame defensive back selected since Jeff Burris was taken with the 27th pick in the 1994 draft by Buffalo. Smith's evolution from shaky utility de- fender to a first-round NFL Draft pick was expedited over two years by a number of factors, including a new Notre Dame coaching staff that identified where he'd be most effective and pushed the right but- tons. "Coach [Chuck] Martin always makes fun of me, saying that when he came in [in 2010 with head coach Brian Kelly] I just didn't have as much confidence as I should have," the safety said. "I think him kind of messing with me and helping grow that confidence is really the biggest thing that changed me into the player that I am right now." Smith was enlisted at linebacker under former head coach Charlie Weis, a posi- tion that never quite suited the Knoxville, Tenn., native. When Kelly and Co. arrived, the new boss said if Smith couldn't play safety, the position he was originally re- cruited to play, he wouldn't play at all. "I think being in one spot and kind of focusing on that really helped me a lot," Smith said. "The coaches I was around were unbelievable. Coach Martin was the guy I was with the most, and Coach [Kerry] Cooks probably had the most expe- rience playing and he's seen it all through a player's eyes. "Coach [Bob] Diaco is just a relentless technician [preaching] doing it the right way and playing sound football. Coach JUNE/JULY 2012 36