On the eve of Notre Dame’s (or as LSU/SEC folk call them “Notra Dame”) big upset victory over #22 LSU, Fighting Irish Coach Brian Kelly extolled the virtues of OLB Jaylon Smith:
“Certainly, physically, one of the better players that I have coached in my career. His best football is in front of him. We took him this year and moved him inside. Which is a big step for a guy that’s played outside, it’s a big difference so this year’s been a learning experience for him.”
Very high praise for Smith, who heads into the 2015 season as the most talented, and perhaps best overall player on the Fighting Irish. There were only three defensive players (DL Isaac Rochell, LB Jaylon Smith and CB Cole Luke) who started all 13 games for the Irish this year.
“We see him now as a leader, he’s not only going to handle his position but also make others around him better, that’s why we’re so excited about next year,” Kelly continued.
“He’s not only going to take care of his position, but he’s going to be a leader on our football team, it’s great when your best player is also one of your best leaders.”
So there you go, Jaylon Smith is the team’s best player, in the eyes of Kelly; even though Everett Golson is the player that we constantly hear about. So keep that in mind, as the preseason hype for ND begins in the summer. It’s very likely that the Irish will be given a top 15 ranking in the national preseason polls.
“My leading, even when I first got here, has been through leading by example,” said Smith about Kelly’s praising of his leadership.
“Now I’m transitioning into being more vocal.”
LSU (8-5) lost for the first time this season to a team not from the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division in the Music City Bowl, and after the game I had to ask Smith about that well known “SEC speed.”
“I really didn’t see a difference, the difference between the SEC is I feel like they’re more confident because of all the exposure they get,” he replied.
“And from a lineman stand point, everyone is massive, and you don’t see that across the west coast and different opponents we play, but in terms of speed, we have a lot of fast guys here at Notre Dame.”
Smith, a 6-2, 235 sophomore from Ft Wayne, Indiana, was ranked the 3rd best player nationally by Rivals.com and Scout.com. ESPNU ranked him 7th overall, and 24/7 Sports had him 5th. Jaylon Smith also won the ND Defensive Player of the Year award while being named AP All-American second team. He’ll be a junior in 2015, meaning if he declares early for the NFL Draft, he’ll be a highly rated prospect in the 2016 class.
Numerous 2016 NFL mock drafts project Smith in the mid to late first round.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2