Willie Smith Scouting Report

Willie Smith started his collegiate career playing defense. As a freshman he tallied seven tackles in limited playing time. As a sophomore at East Carolina he moved to the other side of the ball, but not to the tackle position he would soon hold. Instead, Smith was a tight end for a little while before moving to tackle. Once at the tackle position, he only played 48 snaps.

That has only given Smith two years to really be an offensive lineman. As a junior he stepped right into the starting role at left tackle and helped lead the Pirates to a conference title. That team ranked sixth in the nation, allowing a mere 0.86 sacks per game. Giving up only 12 sacks in 14 games is very impressive and the left tackle deserves a ton of credit for that remarkable statistic. Making that even more impressive was the fact that most of the sacks allowed were early in the season while Smith and the rest of the line were still adjusting to their new roles.

At 6-6, Smith has the size to be a tackle in the NFL. He would likely move to the right side for now since he lacks the strength and agility that the top tackles in the NFL need to have. However, Smith is still relatively new to the position and he has room to improve and room to add weight to his large frame.

3/27 Update: Smith measured in closer to 6-5 than to 6-6, but he also started adding weight to his frame and was up to 310 pounds at the NFL combine. His extra weight looked nice, but it did not lend itself to Smith putting up impressive numbers during the workouts. Smith's lack of experience could turn him into a nice late round pick-up for a team that has the luxury of working with him for a few years and developing him into a quality right tackle.