5:02 am | August 3, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
OXNARD, Calif. — Your eyes cannot help but find No. 54 on the practice field.
On an Ezekiel Elliott run, Jaylon Smith fills the gap just as the running back is getting to the hole. On a swing pass, Smith arrives almost as the same time as Dak Prescott’s pass to Elliott. On a blitz, the linebacker makes it around the corner and sets his sights on Prescott for a would-be sack.
Your eyes could not help but find No. 54 last summer at Dallas Cowboys training camp, too.
Back then, it was Smith’s first time in full pads since his final college game, when a devastating knee injury left many to question he would ever play again. He wore a brace on his left foot that helped alleviate the issue created by nerve damage when he tore the ligaments in his knee. His mind might have been willing, but his body was not always able.
The explosiveness to the ball was intermittent because of the slight hitch in his gait, thanks to the brace.
Through five padded practices this year, Smith has been one of the more consistent defensive performers.
“It’s fast,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. “I mean, you can see it. His movement and everything is good, but you can see he knows what he’s doing and that really quickens you up. He’s done a great job of studying and all those things, so that is helping him look faster, and he’s getting healthier and healthier every day.”
Smith played in every game last season and the coaches credited him with 99 tackles, but he played better when he actually played fewer snaps. At the start of the season, the Cowboys were forced to play him more because of injuries to Anthony Hitchens and Sean Lee. Marinelli said he was “over-repped.”
Not only was he recovering from the injury, he was getting accustomed to playing again after almost 19 months away from the game.
The regeneration of the peroneal nerve has allowed Smith to ditch the brace in 2018. He can sustain his strength and speed more. The Cowboys are not as worried about “over-repping” him again.
“He seems more natural, more instinctive, changing direction,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “You have to be spontaneous when you play. You set things up and you have different responsibilities, but ultimately once the play starts, you don’t really know what’s going to happen, and the best players are able to seamlessly go from one direction to another direction and do what they need to do to make a play. We saw a lot of that in college and I think we’re seeing more and more of that now, once he’s taken that brace off.”
With Smith moving more spontaneously this summer, the Cowboys are experimenting with him blitzing more, even if bringing pressure is not a major part of Marinelli’s scheme. With the addition of first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch, they are looking for position flexibility, and Smith has a natural feel for getting to the quarterback, according to Marinelli.
“I love it,” said Smith. “It’s what I do. I’m very good at having that gift and we’re getting a chance to use it this year.”
What makes him good at it?
“Speed and intensity, knowing when to rush and where to rush,” Smith said. “Just being able to use my athleticism.”
Smith said he has studied pass-rushers since he was 8 years old, like Lawrence Taylor, “but now we’ve got the new millennials with Khalil Mack and Von Miller and those guys, who are great advocates to look after and model my rushing after.”
But they are traditional outside pass-rushers. Garrett said Smith is not a “hand in the ground” pass-rusher, but he can cause offenses trouble in the middle. Smith has looked at Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as inside rushers.
“They’ve got some wiggle,” Smith said, “but I see myself as one of those premier interior linebacker rushers.”
Smith had one sack last season, dropping C.J. Beathard for a 13-yard loss and forcing a fumble. With cornerback Orlando Scandrick blitzing off the edge, the Niners did not have enough blockers for Smith, who went up the middle untouched and the force of the hit on Beathard knocked the ball free.
It was one of Smith’s better moments in 2017. He and the Cowboys are hoping to see more of those kinds of moments in 2018.
“Everything has been part of the plan, part of the process,” Smith said. “Just growing and continuing to get better each and every day. From the beginning, that clear-eye view is what’s gotten me here. And faith. And these guys believing in me. We’re seeing great things.”
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