What makes Sean Smith tick?
When asking the team, you get identical answers alongside polar-opposite responses.
Fellow defensive back Robert Johnson calls him a role model while defensive tackle Greg Newman calls Smith one of his best friends and dubbed Utah’s most zestful player a goofball.
“There are some plays where the entire defense will be tired and Sean will have energy for some reason,” Johnson said. “He showed me how to carry myself around Utah.”
The 6-foot-3, 214-lb. junior cornerback out of Pasadena, Calif., is the textbook illustration of what a highly talented, yet brash football player is.
“It’s just his personality,” Newman said. “He’s just a fun person to be around.”
The All-Mountain West Conference first-teamer has made immense strides, playing as both a running back and a wide receiver since arriving at the U in 2005 when he spent his freshman season as a redshirt.
Smith was originally recruited to come play for Utah as a running back out of high school. As an all-conference, all-state and high school All-American, Smith led Blair High School to its best record in 10 years and had more than 1,500 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns as a senior.
As hard as it seems to make the transition from offense to defense, it was simple for Smith.
“For myself, it was just knowing and learning the defense in and out,” Smith said. “I just know what I had to do and I had to learn, along with the rest of the guys, what we were doing. Once I was able to master the defense, I said, “OK, I can kinda be Sean now and play how I want to play and not be so technical.'”
Despite making the transition in college, most national experts acknowledge Smith’s potential to play at the next level. Smith’s performance in his junior year speaks volumes of his potential to play in the NFL.
He leads the team in interceptions with five and pass breakups with eight, and is No. 7 on the team in total tackles with 40. It is Smith’s athleticism, length and instincts that have allowed him to transcend which side of the ball he plays on. That carries over onto the defensive stat sheet game in and game out.
In Utah’s 40-7 win against Wyoming on Oct. 11, Smith returned an interception for a touchdown on the Cowboys’ first drive and another in the second half that made the nearly empty War Memorial Stadium collapse in awe. The highlight of the pick was dubbed “LEGENDary” on Youtube. The video shows Smith fighting the sun and cocked back as if he were going to throw down a dunk. He reached as far back as he could and literally snagged the pass out of the air with one hand in Utah’s end zone. The play earned Smith the No. 3 spot on SportCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the night.
“That’s how I play. I believe that we are athletes, but at the same time, we’re entertainers,” Smith said. “There’s thousands of fans that come watch us. By knowing that, I just love to hear the fans cheer for me.”
It’s no secret that Smith has the ability to be a shutdown corner at times. As the season progressively wore on, the task got more difficult for Utah’s No. 4.
Against TCU, Smith was matched up against one of the MWC’s most talented and fastest wideouts. Jimmy Young got 97 yards, but no touchdown. Smith’s interception on Andy Dalton late in the second quarter would prove to be the ultimate deciding factor in Utah’s 13-10 win over the Horned Frogs.
Against All-American BYU wide receiver Austin Collie, Smith was content with giving up 104 yards, but alas, there would be six for Collie.
“(Collie) is a very good receiver,” Smith said. “I don’t think he got the credit that he deserves. He was my toughest challenge.”
That is, until now.
As Smith and the Utes ran the tables en route to a 12-0 record and second BCS berth in five years, a monster from the south awaits. And it’s not the Alabama Crimson Tide.
More precisely, true freshman wide receiver Julio Jones, last year’s most-highly recruited player in the nation, will be Smith’s primary concern.
“He runs nice routes, has nice hands,” Smith said. “He’s a freshman, there’s some things he needs to work in the off-season. After watching film, he has some tendencies to give away what routes he’s going to run.”
Tendencies or not, the 6-foot-4-inch, 210-pounder out of Foley, Ala., has been Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson’s esteemed go-to receiver this year, as Jones leads Alabama with 51 receptions, 847 yards and four touchdowns. But as always, numbers are inconsequential to Smith.
“We’re about the same size,” Smith said. “I’m a little faster and with the experience, I should come out on top.”
As teammates say, Smith simply wouldn’t be Smith if he didn’t play with the emotion and swagger that he has brought to Utah.
Believe it or not, Smith isn’t content just shutting down receivers either. He still wouldn’t mind seeing time as one. He has constantly hounded wide receivers coach Aaron Roderick and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig all season to get a few plays in on offense.
“I bother them all the time,” Smith said. “But I think my days are done on offense.”
Even in practice, Smith’s exuberance and vocals are heard everywhere. As he waited for interviews after practice, Smith was yelling tips to the scout team defensive backs, telling them where to go, where to break and how to get into the receiver’s head.
Seems like Smith has found where he belongs.
Thien SokSean Smith exchanges words with BYU receiver Austin Collie early in the Utah?s 48-24 win over the Cougars. According to Smith, Collie and Alabama wideout Julio Jones will be his biggest tests to date.
Lennie MahlerSean Smith plays the game with his own brand of emotion and swagger. Smith is the most exuberant and vocal player on the field at most times.