Is Big 12 ready for Reggie?

By Scott Wright

Published: August 9, 2007

NORMAN — When he thinks about the preseason honors he's received heading into his junior season, Oklahoma defensive back Reggie Smith has to ask himself a question.

"How'd I get this?” he said. "I haven't really done that much.”

So last month, when Smith was named by the media as the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year — or when he was nominated as a first-team all-conference defensive back and kick returner, or when his name popped up on the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award — he was quick to move on.

"I'm grateful for it,” he said, "but you can't really even look at that stuff.”

And that's just the attitude that could help Smith achieve the type of year those preseason accolades suggest he's capable of.

"I think he's capable of doing a lot of great things,” OU secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright said. "Will he indeed do it? That's another thing.

"You don't earn anything in this business just by people saying nice things about you. You've got to earn your way. He's got to go out and be productive.”

Smith has been productive in two seasons at OU.

No, his statistics won't knock you over, but he's been one piece of the secondary that coaches haven't had to worry about.

The Edmond Santa Fe product has 88 tackles, five interceptions and 11 passes broken up in 26 career games, mostly at strong safety.

The coaching staff believes cornerback is a more natural position for him, so they moved him there in spring 2006.

A glaring weakness at strong safety forced him to return there after three games, and now he's back at cornerback, a position he said last year that he prefers.

Like many players, Smith sets goals for himself before the season. For 2007, his goals are neither too specific, nor too modest.

"On special teams, I'd like to get a few more returns than I did last year for touchdowns,” he said. "On defense, I want more interceptions, so I can get the ball back to the offense.”

His lack of playing time at cornerback leaves him with plenty of work to do in training camp, polishing his skills and learning the position again.

"If anybody's capable of doing it, Reggie is, because Reggie comes to work every day,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "That's the thing you really appreciate. He's as big of a competitor as we have.

"Really good players are never satisfied.”

Never satisfied — the phrase that might describe Smith better than any other.

"I expect a lot more than I've been doing the last two years,” he said. "It's more just myself wanting to be great and do great things.”

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