OT, Tulsa
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 324 lbs
Class: rs-Sophomore
As a three-star recruit coming out of Texas in 2019, Smith was originally projected as a guard. He earned four offers and committed to Tulsa over Navy, Houston, and New Mexico. After redshirting his freshman season, he earned a starting role at left tackle, where he earned All-AAC honours in each of his two starting seasons. Smith enters the draft with 21 career starts and over 1,500 snaps to his name.
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Strengths
One of Smith’s biggest selling points is his outstanding play strength. He has incredible natural power to his game and is able to create a tonne of movement in the trenches. His ability on drive blocks is excellent and he is one of the best offensive tackles in the class when it comes to displacing defenders. This created plenty of wide open running lanes for his backs to hit the open field. Whilst Smith’s best stop is likely at tackle, this strength gives him the versatility to play to a high level on the interior.
Smith pairs his power with a very well-rounded athletic profile. He tested well in the pre-draft process, logging a Relative Athletic Score of 8.76. This ranked ninth amongst all draft-eligible offensive tackles. It all showed up on film too. Smith has the foot quickness to carry speed rushers around the pocket in pass protection. He also showcases the lateral agility to execute reach blocks and climb to the second level. This all combines to make a scheme-diverse tackle at the next level.
When it comes to his pass protection, Smith boasts a really impressive anchor. He handled himself very well against bigger edge rushers and is able to absorb bull rushes with ease. His ability to maintain a wide base and quickly sink stood out on tape and will obviously translate well to the next level. This helped him to allow just nine pressures on his 446 pass blocking snaps in 2021.
Teams are also going love Smith’s demeanour on the football field. He plays the game with great effort and is always looking for work in pass protection. He also showcases a real appetite for finishing his blocks in the running game. Smith actually led all FBS offensive linemen in big-time blocks in 2021. There is no doubt that he will be a tone-setter along the offensive line at the next level.
Weaknesses
Whilst Smith has all of the traits you want in a tackle, he is a work-in-progress as far as his technique is concerned. His hand usage is wildly inconsistent and caused him a tonne of problems in college. He is generally late to get his hands on his opponent and is overly reliant on two hand punches. His accuracy is poor too, getting really wide and outside the frame of the defender. He doesn’t show any awareness of when to reset either, putting him in bad positions and leading him to be a flag magnet. Smith was penalised 16 times in 2021, the most of any FBS offensive linemen.
In addition to his poor hand usage, Smith has a long way to go when it comes to pass protection. His problems stem mainly from his footwork. He has a tendency to upkick out of his stance rather than getting depth, leading him to turn and open his hips to defenders. He will often then get too narrow with his base or cross his feet, leading to balance issues. Smith also has a habit of bending at the waist and leaning into blocks, which smarter defenders routinely exploited with push-pull moves.
Bottom Line
With his combination of athleticism, play strength, and aggressive nature, Smith possesses all of the traits to develop into a quality starting tackle in the NFL. He is still very much a work-in-progress though, and requires major improvements to his footwork and hand usage before he can be a dependable starter.
Ideal role: Scheme-versatile left tackle
Round projection: 2nd round
