SMITH’S STOCK TAKING A HIT FOR REASONS UNRELATED TO WORKOUT
Posted by Mike Florio on February 21, 2009, 9:25 p.m.
As if the bizarre departure of Alabama tackle Andre Smith from Indianapolis didn’t raise enough questions about his pro prospects, some of the things Smith did and said in Indy might have done even more damage.
According to Tony Pauline of SI.com, Smith had a bad round of interviews on Friday.
“Smith’s interviews with teams have been going horribly,” Pauline reports. “He’s been inappropriately dressed and has been giving a number of conflicting statements as to why he was choosing not to workout at the combine. Several offensive line coaches have already suggested Smith be removed from their team’s draft board and there’s no doubt his draft stock is falling.”
Though high-end tackles create a lower percentage of busts than positions like quarterback and receiver, few tackles have had such a bad experience at the Scouting Combine. As a result, anyone who recommends that the team use a high first-round pick on Smith need to have a high degree of job security — or needs to be right.