Terrell Smith 

Pos: CB

School: Minnesota

Ht. 6’0″ 

Wt. 204

Games Watched: Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State 

One Liner: Well built, high motor corner who wins with elite footwork, anticipation and aggressiveness at the release point.

Strengths: 

  • Elite footwork. Smith is able to maintain great positioning at the receivers release because of his quick and active feet at the line.
  • Very good hands and aggressiveness. Smith is able to balance aggressive and active hands to pack punches at the LOS, and disrupt slants and short routes in press
  • Very good combo of size-speed-strength. Smith is a big corner above 200 pounds and is in the rare top percentile of 200+ pound corners that runs a 4.41. 
  • Good anticipation. Smith knows how to use his eyes and is aware of the receivers route tree, which allows him to use his 4.41 speed to make a play on the pass.
  • Good motor. Smith plays with a high motor, playing through injury and still locking up Charlie Jones for the most part against Purdue. He is a willing run defender who comes flying down to make a play on the runner.

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate plant and go. I hesitate to project Smith as an off man or even zone corner because his plant and go is just a bit slow. He processes well, but he gets flat footed when he sits off or in zone
  • Adequate hip fluidity. This seems to bite Smith in situations where he has to flip his hips and readjust his body to the corner. I also fear his footwork covers up for his somewhat stiff hips. 
  • Marginal short area quickness. Smith’s 7.02 three cone and 4.02 short shuttle are reflective of somewhat slow short area and lateral movements, something to consider when drafting him as an off or zone corner. 

Overall Assessment: Smith is an immensely underrated prospect. A player at his size should not run as fast as he does. Smith also plays much smarter than some of the other corners in this deep corner class. He has some very projectable traits, but he might be limited moving forward if he doesn’t develop his hip fluidity. 

Scheme Fit: Press Man Corner

Pick Projection: Day 2

Grade: 6.36