App State LB DJ Smith Getting NFL Looks

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

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Article is interesting because this is one of the times I'm not quite as high on a FCS player as the two scouts who came through ASU during the spring and as high as some at ASU are.

First let me say that Smith is a very good FCS LB. He is one of the best I have seen in the last few years and yes he can run and is a hard-hitter and is a leader on the defense. Smith is a solid player.

Now let me point out what I think folks are failing to mention. DJ Smith is 5'10 1/4. Yes I know ASU lists him at 6'1 but when measured by the NFL he was 5'10 1/4. I think a lot of folks have heard so much about Dexter Coakley that they want to believe an LB entering his 4th year as a starter putting up over 100 tackles every year and is on pace for over 500 tackles is going to be the next Coakley. I went back and tallied and Smith has played in 43 games and while this is not official I believe Coakley played in 46 games. So far DJ has 381 tackles and Coakley had 645. For Smith to catch Coakley in the same amount of games he would need to tally 264 tackles in just 3 games to equal Coakley. When folks look back at his career it is truly amazing.

One thing both players have in common is their size at 5'10 230 but Smith is thicker and I do believe will run 4.65-4.70 for the NFL scouts while Coakley ran a 4.39.

First remember that those two scouts are younger scouts who are simply guessing and are not decision makers. If Smith dropped down to about 220-225 I could see him running in the 4.60 range but still would not be quite as fast. Another thing is that Coakley was very very smart and sometimes Smith is inconsistent finding himself out of the play. Look at Elon and you will see him playing very well showing great skills while McNeese State and a couple other games he was almost a complete non factor. At 5'10 you can't be up and down like that. Smith also scored a 9 on the wonderlic which hurts especially when you are a shorter small school player.

I don't want people thinking I'm trying to diss Smith I just don't want people unfairly comparing him to Coakley because Coakley's numbers per game and his ability is at a higher level. Smith will get in a NFL camp and might even be taken late in the draft but basing his skills on what he showed on the field last year he is not quite consistent enough nor does he have the football intelligence that Coakley had. Look at how many times we have seen linebackers who were 5'10 or 5'11 and how they were so quickly written off and it was said that was the only reason they did get a shot in the NFL. Coakley not only got a shot but went in the third round and played 10 years despite being 5'10.

My prediction for Smith is that he will go undrafted and make it down to the last cut perhaps making a practice squad but if he improves significantly this season I do believe he might go in the 6th or 7th round. Still, he will need to improve his wonderlic and run in the 4.6s for me to feel safe in projecting that.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

For those who have not read up on Coakley here are the two blurbs written by TSN on him after winning the Buck Buchanan Award.

1996, Dexter Coakley, LB, Appalachian State
-- Coakley followed up his Buchanan Award performance of 1995 with another timeless display, registering a career-high 166 stops for the 7-4 Mountaineers. Included in the campaign were three games of 20 tackles or more, including one against Division I-A Wake Forest. Coakley graduated with a school-record 645 tackles in his four-year career, with his seven 20-tackle games also ranking first in Appalachian State annals. The Mt. Pleasant, S.C., native also stands as the only two-time winner of the Buck Buchanan Award, as well as the only individual to win two straight. Drafted in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, Coakley enjoyed a productive, 10-year pro career with the Cowboys and St. Louis Rams, earning NFL Pro Bowl honors in 1999, 2001 and 2003.

1995, Dexter Coakley, LB, Appalachian State
-- Coakley was the recipient of the inaugural Buchanan Award following a legendary junior season. The Mt. Pleasant, S.C., native totaled 165 tackles on the year, including 98 solo stops, as ASU posted a perfect 11-0 regular season and won an outright Southern Conference title. The Mountaineers rode their defense to a number of close wins, including a 10-3 triumph against normally high-powered Marshall, the eventual national runner-up. Coakley posted 21 tackles against the Thundering Herd. Following a win over James Madison in the opening playoff round, the ASU season ended with a 27-17 loss to Stephen F. Austin.

[Skjellyfetti]

I think you're overreacting to the Coakley thing. The article doesn't say he's another Dexter Coakley... it barely even mentions Coakley at all... just in reference to the 500 tackles.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

I think you're overreacting to the Coakley thing. The article doesn't say he's another Dexter Coakley... it barely even mentions Coakley at all... just in reference to the 500 tackles.

The article doesn't but some folks in Boone are making comparisons. Heard some things coming from those who work for ASU that really scare me to believe that they believe Smith is at that level yet. Hopefully he will because I do know Smith works hard and he certainly has had a great career. It just seems Smith is getting more attention from ASU over LeGree and I think that is the wrong pick.

Interesting side note is that DJ Smith was nominated by ASU for DEF POY and was beaten out by Samford's LB who is not getting much NFL interest right now. I think that certainly says a lot. If ASU were hyping LeGree he would have been the preseason pick by the coaches.

[james_lawfirm]

I think you're overreacting to the Coakley thing. The article doesn't say he's another Dexter Coakley... it barely even mentions Coakley at all... just in reference to the 500 tackles.

The article doesn't but some folks in Boone are making comparisons. Heard some things coming from those who work for ASU that really scare me to believe that they believe Smith is at that level yet. Hopefully he will because I do know Smith works hard and he certainly has had a great career. It just seems Smith is getting more attention from ASU over LeGree and I think that is the wrong pick.

Interesting side note is that DJ Smith was nominated by ASU for DEF POY and was beaten out by Samford's LB who is not getting much NFL interest right now. I think that certainly says a lot. If ASU were hyping LeGree he would have been the preseason pick by the coaches.

DJ Smith is the real deal. I don't know if he's another Dexter Coakley or not, BUT I can guar-an-dam-tee that he's going to take the head off any WRs crossing over the middle this year. He will also be a hard-hitting run stopper.

I saw him at Fan Fest a few weeks ago & he seemed to be about the same size as Jacque Roman - 6'0", 250lbs., but that's just my guess. I think he will be one of the finest MLBs App has had in a long time.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

The article doesn't but some folks in Boone are making comparisons. Heard some things coming from those who work for ASU that really scare me to believe that they believe Smith is at that level yet. Hopefully he will because I do know Smith works hard and he certainly has had a great career. It just seems Smith is getting more attention from ASU over LeGree and I think that is the wrong pick.

Interesting side note is that DJ Smith was nominated by ASU for DEF POY and was beaten out by Samford's LB who is not getting much NFL interest right now. I think that certainly says a lot. If ASU were hyping LeGree he would have been the preseason pick by the coaches.

DJ Smith is the real deal. I don't know if he's another Dexter Coakley or not, BUT I can guar-an-dam-tee that he's going to take the head off any WRs crossing over the middle this year. He will also be a hard-hitting run stopper.

I saw him at Fan Fest a few weeks ago & he seemed to be about the same size as Jacque Roman - 6'0", 250lbs., but that's just my guess. I think he will be one of the finest MLBs App has had in a long time.

I think he is the best since Justin Seaverns who happened to play in the NFL for a little while. He is certainly talented. Not putting him down at all. Just saying that Coakley was another level. I hope Smith improves in a few areas this year because he will need improvement to make it in the NFL but even at the same level he was last year he would be an All-American and obviously that is still impressive. Based on the LBs I have seen for you guys I would say 1. Coakley 2. Dino Hackett 3. Justin Seaverns 4. DJ Smith

Seaverns was a real good one who I thought got a bad deal with the NFL.

On Smith taking off heads I heard he and LeGree both had a nice hit. Between the two I couldn't imagine being a receiver going across the middle having to face a hit from both at the same time. OUCH!

One interesting note heading into the season is that FCS LBs in general are down from what they have been with a lot of great FCS players but not many who will likely play in the NFL.

[Saint3333]

I'd put DJ ahead of Justin, but agree he'll be behind the other two. DJ is as fast as Justin but bigger and stronger.

Justin had a lot of things going against him after college. Another ASU great was Rico Mack, hardest hitter I've ever seen at LB for ASU.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

I'd put DJ ahead of Justin, but agree he'll be behind the other two. DJ is as fast as Justin but bigger and stronger.

Justin had a lot of things going against him after college. Another ASU great was Rico Mack, hardest hitter I've ever seen at LB for ASU.

Justin was like 6'2 225 or 230. He was taller but not as thick. I saw Mack as well. I'd put him up there. He might even be ahead of Smith.

[AppMan]

Love how the writer avoided admitting DJ picked ASU over some ACC schools by saying he had "options" out of high school. These guys simply can not bring themselves to admit someone turned down unc-ch in favor of (gulp) Appalachian! Oh yea, Va Tech was another school who offered DJ a scholarship.

[slulionsfan]

First remember that those two scouts are younger scouts who are simply guessing and are not decision makers.

Let me get this straight...these two "younger scouts" as you put it, are out busting their ass, working hard, and being paid for their opinions, while you're probably sitting in your underwear, blasting away on message boards...not that you aren't entitled to your opinion, but I'll trust the guys who are out there running the roads, and getting paid by a club.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

First remember that those two scouts are younger scouts who are simply guessing and are not decision makers.

Let me get this straight...these two "younger scouts" as you put it, are out busting their ass, working hard, and being paid for their opinions, while you're probably sitting in your underwear, blasting away on message boards...not that you aren't entitled to your opinion, but I'll trust the guys who are out there running the roads, and getting paid by a club.

When I say younger I'm not talking about age as much as the fact they have never scouted before doing what they are doing now. I do consulting with NFL teams such as GMs, directors, etc. and work with all-star games so I do a lot of the same stuff they do. The only difference is that they are not independent as myself and they are working directly for a team. See these combine and BLESTO scouts, the two who came through in the spring, judge a lot based on what coaches tell them and on height, weight, and speed. You can ask any experienced scout and they will tell you these national and BLESTO guys are younger guys just learning and the way you can tell they are good is when they get promoted with their team or a better job with another team. Those advance scouts who come through in the spring are usually the guys teams hire when they first enter the league. Very few of those positions are held by guys who have been doing this for more than 5 years. Usually after 5-7 years of doing it they get promoted. You can trust them all you want but these same scouts did not think anything of Felton Huggins and he was not a "reject" as they labeled him. I have their grades from the last 10 years. They are not very accurate, which is why I don't trust their grades. Their top rated player from National Scouting did not even get drafted two out of three years.

Here is an example of their work. Here were their top 10 FCS players for the 2010 NFL Draft heading into the fall.

School First Last Pos Grade Grade Rd. Proj. Actual Draft Result
CITADEL ANDRE ROBERTS WR 5.70 3rd 3rd
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE CASEY KNIPS OT 5.60 3rd PFA
MASSACHUSETTS-AM VLADIMIR DUCASSE OG 5.50 4th-5th 2nd
YOUNGSTOWN STATE DONALD JONES WR 5.50 4th-5th PFA
NORTHERN IOWA JAMES RUFFIN DE 5.40 5th PFA
UC DAVIS CHRIS CARTER WR 5.40 5th INJ- No Team
FORDHAM JOHN SKELTON QB 5.30 5th-6th 5th
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE CASEY BENDER OG 5.30 5th-6th FA
UC DAVIS BAKARI GRANT WR 5.30 5th-6th FA- Cut already
COLGATE PATRICK SIMONDS WR 5.20 6th PFA

So based on last year they wre dead on with Roberts, who by the way the scout who did his was in his last spring and got promoted just after doing it. The guy who is doing the SoCon now is a new guy still learning. They had 3 of their top 10 who ended up getting drafted with a couple of them being cut very early. I would give them credit for being right on Roberts and Skelton but where off on everyone else.

In fact here is a look at the rest of the players they gave draft grades to:

School First Last Pos Grade Grade Rd. Proj Actual Draft Result
DELAWARE MATT MARCORELLE OB 5.00 7th-PFA INJ- In this year's draft
EASTERN KENTUCKY DEREK HARDMAN OT 5.00 7th-PFA PFA
EASTERN WASHINGTON NATHAN OVERBAY TE 5.00 7th-PFA PFA
JAMES MADISON DORIAN BROOKS OG 5.00 7th-PFA PFA
MASSACHUSETTS-AM JEREMY HORNE MURDOCK WR 5.00 7th-PFA PFA
MISSOURI STATE CLAYTON HARBOR TE 5.00 7th-PFA 4th
MORGAN STATE AUSTEN LANE DE 5.00 7th-PFA 5th
STONY BROOK CHRISTIAN RICHARDS DC 5.00 7th-PFA FA
WEBER STATE KYLE MUTCHER OC 5.00 7th-PFA FA

Only two of these were drafted and both were rated much lower than they should have been. Harbor flew up from borderline drafted to 4th while Lane went to 5th. Not saying I'm always right but just giving evidence of how you can't trust these early grades.

For reference here is a look at their top 10 FCS players for this year with their round projection and I'll put my preseason projection on them. It will be interesting to see who is closer at the end of the day:

NAME SCHOOL POS GRADE Rd. Proj. My Rd. Proj.
DEVLIN, PATRICK DELAWARE QB 6.00 2nd 3rd-5th- I think his lack of a big arm keeps him out of the 2nd round
ELLIS, KENRICK HAMPTON DT 5.70 3rd PFA- off field issues and lack of motor keep him out of the top rounds, 6th-7th at best
RACKLEY, WILLIAM LEHIGH OG 5.60 3rd 6th-7th- just think he is a bit overrated, might end up 5th round at best.
IJALANA, BENJAMIN VILLANOVA OT 5.50 4th-5th 3rd- I think he is underrated because he lacked the ideal height for a tackle
SMITH, DARRYL APPALACHIAN ST. OB 5.40 5th PFA- he is 5'10 and scored a 9 on the wonderlic, not to mention he is a little stiff in the hips, and inconsistent.
ARKIN, DAVID MISSOURI STATE OG 5.40 5th 7th-PFA- this is a tough one because I think he flashes but he struggled with a player at NDSU who will never play in the NFL so I will lean PFA
SZCZUR, MATTHEW VILLANOVA WO 5.40 5th this one is so tough because we don't know what he will truly do with baseball, he should go 5th-6th range like they have him but he could easily be a PFA.
ALLEN, CORTEZ CITADEL DC 5.30 5th-6th 7th-PFA- purely a HT/WT/SPD guy, very raw and stiff
ANTHONY, CHRISTIAN GRAMBLING DE 5.30 5th-6th Heart Attack- Won't get drafted
O'DANIEL, COREY GARDNER-WEBB OG 5.20 6th PFA- Medical Red Flags

One piece of background I will give is that these scouts are told to grade players based on talent only and let the GMs decide if the red flags are enough to not draft them. I take flags into account when grading players so that alone makes these grades a little inaccurate.

And just for good measure here is 11-20 on their board

HARRIS, MARCUS MURRAY STATE 5.20 6th Will go undrafted, way overrated by scouts
WILLIAMS, JABARA STEPHEN F AUSTIN 5.20 6th Will go undrafted unless he has a lights out senior year, runs well but misses too many tackles
PORTER, CURT JACKSONVILLE ST. (ALA) 5.10 6th-7th Has the body type but was not that great against Florida State last year so he needs a big year
ROGERS, JUSTIN RICHMOND 5.10 6th-7th 5'10 and struggles heavily with big receivers, likely PFA
ABDULAI, IBRAHIM ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 5.00 7th-PFA Should go undrafted, not consistent and dominant enough in SWAC to be taken yet.
CASTILLE, QUENTIN NORTHWESTERN ST 5.00 7th-PFA Entered Supplemental Draft
LINDSEY, KOREY SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5.00 7th-PFA Underrated, 4th-5th round caliber player, just because he is 5'11 and ran 4.53 they have him late draftable but if he had been 6'0 and ran a 4.45 he would be a 3rd-4th round on their boards.
DIEKER, CHRISTOPHER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5.00 7th-PFA Has a decent arm and size but has weird mechanics and not consistent enough. Not as good as Skelton.
JONES, JOHN TENNESSEE ST 5.00 7th-PFA Not even eligible this year.
LEGREE, MARK APPALACHIAN ST. 4.90 PFA Underrated I think he is a 4th-6th round type guy.

[slulionsfan]

How about this...since you've been to every spring practice in the country, have been to every fall camp, and have broken down every tape on every potential prospect, how about assigning your grades and we'll revisit them at draft time...I have a sneaky suspicion you'll have lots of misses on your score card.

[SmallCollegeFBFan]

How about this...since you've been to every spring practice in the country, have been to every fall camp, and have broken down every tape on every potential prospect, how about assigning your grades and we'll revisit them at draft time...I have a sneaky suspicion you'll have lots of misses on your score card.

There isn't a single scout in America who has done that and by the way spring practice doesn't mean anything. Neither does fall camp. Games are all that matters. Yes, NFL scouts go to practices but that is to see players up close to hear them interact with players and really to get interviews with coaches, players, etc. during the fall.

Ever heard what the great Bill Parcells said? If you are right 50 percent of the time then you are doing good. I have a sneaky suspicion that EVERYONE has missed on their score card. The NFL misses all the time just pointing out a few Tony Romo went undrafted, Marques Colston went in the 7th round, Tom Brady in the 6th round, and of course they have tons of first round busts from Heath Shuler to Ryan Leaf to JaMarcus Russell and the list goes on and on. Nobody gets them all right.

The difference between myself and those two scouts who happen to do the SoCon is that I was around doing this back when Romo played and that was 4-5 years before these guys even started doing it. I'm not dissing them just pointing out the inexperience. They will be very good after 5-7 years of experience but trust me I remember when I first started dealing with the NFL and I have gotten 1,000 times better since 2002. Scouts improve most with time although no matter how young you are I believe if you are truly meant to scout you show flashes when you are a teenager of being able to evaluate players. You talk to any great scout and you will see they had shown flashes of scouting as young kids being able to pick out the real good players at that early age.

[Skjellyfetti]

SMITH, DARRYL APPALACHIAN ST. OB 5.40 5th PFA- he is 5'10 and scored a 9 on the wonderlic, not to mention he is a little stiff in the hips, and inconsistent.

I have a hard time believing DJ Smith scored a 9 on the Wonderlic. He's an accounting major...

[Saint3333]

I'd like to think I could watch a football player and tell you if he's got talent to play at the next level. This isn't rocket science people.

DJ's got a chance to make an NFL roster. Anywhere from a 6th round pick to a FA.

[slulionsfan]

How about this...since you've been to every spring practice in the country, have been to every fall camp, and have broken down every tape on every potential prospect, how about assigning your grades and we'll revisit them at draft time...I have a sneaky suspicion you'll have lots of misses on your score card.

There isn't a single scout in America who has done that and by the way spring practice doesn't mean anything. Neither does fall camp. Games are all that matters. Yes, NFL scouts go to practices but that is to see players up close to hear them interact with players and really to get interviews with coaches, players, etc. during the fall.

Ever heard what the great Bill Parcells said? If you are right 50 percent of the time then you are doing good. I have a sneaky suspicion that EVERYONE has missed on their score card. The NFL misses all the time just pointing out a few Tony Romo went undrafted, Marques Colston went in the 7th round, Tom Brady in the 6th round, and of course they have tons of first round busts from Heath Shuler to Ryan Leaf to JaMarcus Russell and the list goes on and on. Nobody gets them all right.

The difference between myself and those two scouts who happen to do the SoCon is that I was around doing this back when Romo played and that was 4-5 years before these guys even started doing it. I'm not dissing them just pointing out the inexperience. They will be very good after 5-7 years of experience but trust me I remember when I first started dealing with the NFL and I have gotten 1,000 times better since 2002. Scouts improve most with time although no matter how young you are I believe if you are truly meant to scout you show flashes when you are a teenager of being able to evaluate players. You talk to any great scout and you will see they had shown flashes of scouting as young kids being able to pick out the real good players at that early age.

No, but you talk about players as if you've seen every game, every practice, know their work habits, off-field issues, etc, and act as if your opinion is the only one that's valid...you essentially made my point in your opening sentence.

I happen to know a little bit about the scouting profession - more so baseball since that's been my livelihood for over 25 years - but I know several long time NFL scouts, and have had many conversations about how they do their jobs...it's a lot different than baseball due to the nature of each sport, but there are a lot of similarities, and NO ONE has all the answers, even if they think they do...one common element, regardless of sport, is that most scouts tend to respect each other, and each other's opinions, even when they differ greatly...there's an old saying in baseball scouting, "I won't laugh at yours if you don't laugh at mine," meaning they're all aware that they're wrong a lot more than they're right.

Just seems to me if you've actually ever been employed (not a "consultant", any jackass can be one of those) by an NFL club and had to make decisions on players, you would have a little more respect for the jobs scouts do...I don't have a problem with you disagreeing with them, or stating your opinion, but it seems like every time a fan mentions a player "getting looks" or "having a chance" at the NFL, you go out of your way to carve them up, and rant about how you what the kid's REAL height and weight is, 40-time is, etc., when it's doubtful you've ever seen most of them in person, put a stop watch on them, or took their heights and weights.

It's not your opinion I have a problem with...it's the manner in which you express it, and the obvious disregard you have for folks who don't agree with you...I have no doubt that you have contacts in the NFL and may be used as a "consultant" from time to time, but "consultant" is a catch-all and just about any jackass can be one (not calling you a jackass)...but if you're right as much as you insinuate you are in the many, many, many, many posts I've read from you over the last couple of years, you would be on some club's payroll and running their draft on a yearly basis...it's one thing to talk to a bunch of scouts, sample their opinions, and formulate your own...but it's another to go out on your own, do your own work, stick your neck out and be held accountable for a player you like or dislike.

As for D.J. Smith, he could walk through my front door and I wouldn't know him...I've seen a little bit of video in passing and have watched App State several times on TV, but I couldn't tell you if he could play dead - simply because I haven't taken the time to bear down on him...but if an NFL scout has taken the time to evaluate him in practice, in a game, spring practice, interview, whatever, and tells me he thinks he can play, or has a chance, I'll defer to his opinion over some guru on the intertubes, even if it's his first day on the job...no offense to you of course.

[AppStateAlumQC]

D.J. has the skill set to be successful in the league. He may have to do it the hard way like Murrell, Hunter, and Lynch have done in recent years. I expect him to have a big season which would only help his cause.