The following is from an interview from Nfldraftcountdown:
Scott Wright: You suffered a toe injury late in the '07 season. What was the exact nature of that injury and where are you at health-wise now?
Reggie Smith: At the end of the season I broke my big right toe and it took about three months for it to fully heal.
Right now I am pretty much all the way back.
Scott Wright: Is it anything that might affect you long-term?
Reggie Smith: I went to the Combine for a re-check and I was told that it looked like it was an old injury I had for a while and I guess they just said I kind of re-aggravated it. It’s fine now though so I’m not really worried about it.
Scott Wright: Much has been made about the controversial workout on April 9 that featured you and Malcolm Kelly. What are your thoughts on the whole situation in terms of the running surface and how do you feel you did?
Reggie Smith: I think I did well overall. Like you said there was a big controversy and I can see why Malcolm was mad because he was told before he’d be running on a different surface and when he got there they changed it. I can see why he was frustrated. It was just a real bad situation I think but, I mean, it is what it is and the times are what they’re going to be. In my heart I know from past experiences that we’ve never run that slow on that surface so it’s just kind of strange we ran a tenth slower. I’ve run a 4.4 on it before and Malcolm’s run at least a 4.5 or something like that so it’s strange. I’m not really worrying about it and hopefully things work out.
Scott Wright: You played safety as a freshman and sophomore and then moved to cornerback as a junior. Based on your meetings with teams where do you think you will end up in the NFL?
Reggie Smith: It just depends. Some teams think I’ll be a better corner and some teams think I’ll be a better safety. I’m hearing both. It will just be wherever I fit in best on the team.
Scott Wright: Which position do you prefer?
Reggie Smith: When I first got to OU I strictly wanted to play safety because that was all I had played in high school and growing up. Once I actually did play corner I kind of started growing fond of it so if you asked me now I’d probably like playing corner better than safety but I can do both.
Scott Wright: What would you say is your greatest strength as a football player and what area do you need to work on?
Reggie Smith: Like I’ve been saying this whole time my biggest strength is probably my versatility. I can play corner, the nickel back position if needed, or safety. I think I can help out a lot in any situation. I think I need to work on some of my corner skills because I haven’t played that as much as I’ve played safety.
Scott Wright: What current NFL defensive back do you most admire and who do you think you compare favorably to?
Reggie Smith: Most admire. Let me think… I recently started watching Terence Newman from the Cowboys. He’s a real good defender, real fast and makes a lot of plays. The comparison I’ve been hearing for me for a while is Marlin Jackson. I looked it up on the internet and I guess he played kind of safety and corner in college so that looks like a pretty fair comparison.
Scott Wright: What is your greatest football moment to date?
Reggie Smith: Either going to the state championship in high school or winning back-to-back Big 12 Championship games.
Scott Wright: Who is the best player you have faced during your career?
Reggie Smith: Probably Vince Young. He’s amazing.
Scott Wright: Is there one younger player at Oklahoma that you see developing into a star, either at the college or pro level?
Reggie Smith: Can I say two? DeMarco Murray at running back and Jermaine Gresham the tight end.
Scott Wright: Who was your favorite college or pro team growing up? Did you have a favorite player?
Reggie Smith: I really didn’t have a favorite college team growing up, I just watched the games a lot. OU, OSU, I didn’t really care I just wanted to watch the games. I did kind of like the Falcons when Jamal Anderson was there and they were the “Dirty Birds” and whatnot. My favorite player right now is probably Reggie Bush.
Scott Wright: What current pro are you most looking forward to going up against in the NFL?
Reggie Smith: Randy Moss or T.O.
They’re great challenges and great athletes.
Scott Wright: At what point did you realize that you might have a future in football beyond college?
Reggie Smith: Probably my freshman year in college. I had the opportunity to start pretty much after the third game of my freshman year and I think it’s pretty rare for a freshman to start at the safety position at a major college like that.
Scott Wright: What do you plan to do once your playing career is over?
Reggie Smith: I would like to coach, I think, or go back and do something in the business area like accounting. My dad is an accountant so I think something in that area might be something I’d like to do.
Scott Wright: When you get your first professional paycheck what is the first thing you will buy?
Reggie Smith: Probably just a nice little house or apartment wherever I’m going to be staying. I’m not real big on buying a whole much of stuff because I’m a real stingy, tightwad type of person.
Scott Wright: What’s the most embarrassing song on your iPod?
Reggie Smith: I can’t think of the name of it but I have an Avril Lavigne song on my iPod.
Scott Wright: Do you have any goals in mind when it comes to the NFL Draft (i.e. Round 1, Round 2, etc.)?
Reggie Smith: Everyone dreams of going in the first round so that’s kind of my goal. It’s a long road to make it there I just hope I can get in the first round and if not the second.
Scott Wright: Is there one or two teams in particular that you’ve noticed paying more attention to you than others?
Reggie Smith: I really don’t know… I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff, I mean, I’ve heard Dallas and that would be fine with me.
I’ve only visited Buffalo so far but I go to Kansas City and New England next week. Then I visited with a couple of others. Pittsburgh came to visit me here in Oklahoma and Cincinnati.
Scott Wright: Is there one team that you think you would fit in well with?
Reggie Smith: Not really.
I think I can fit in anywhere and can adapt to a lot of things.
Scott Wright: Thanks for the time and good luck in a couple of weeks!
