Smiths little 6 foot self will have more balls batted back in his face that he will manage to get thrown passed the line of scrimmage. Nothing to do with where he went to college, all that matters now is his pro career, which will be as a backup at best.

He is not starting quarterback material at the NFL level. He was a good fit for Ohio State, throwing to a Heisman candidate receiver on one side, and another very good receiver on the other side. The offense totally outmatched the competition in virtually every game they played. It wont be like that for him in the NFL.

Alomst as much as you hate ANYTHING related to ND, right?

troy smith is a winner, a proven winner. i get so bored with the combine and scouting that decides who is the real good players, and then time and time again the guys who work hard and do what they have to do to win shock everyone and succeed at the next level.

im a vikings fan, im a minnesota fan, i hate ohio state, and theres only one qb in the whole draft that im interested in, and its troy smith.

He might be available for a date if you call him.

Brady Quinn, Drew Stanton, Kevin Kolb, probably even Trent Edwards would be better NFL options this year. As for underclassment, if Henne, Russell, and Bhrom were to come out, they would all be better quarterbacks than Smith in this draft.

Hell, I don't think Jared Zabransky will make it as a solid NFL starter, but even he is a better option.

Ahhh, the classic excuse about his size. Troy Smith is 6-1, here are some QB's that are between 6-0 & 6-2 that started games in the NFL this year:

• Drew Brees - 6-0
• Mark Brunell - 6-1
• Jake Delhomme - 6-2
• Brett Favre - 6-2
• Jeff Garcia - 6-1
• Jon Kitna - 6-2
• Rex Grossman - 6-1
• Donovan McNabb - 6-2
• Tony Romo - 6-2
• Michael Vick - 6-0

Last time i check, some of those guys are pretty good QB's, and all are comparable in height to Smith. And with all of them, I don't recall batted balls being a major issue with any of these guys. 6-5 QB's get balls batted down as well. Smith has very good mechanics on his delivery and the ability to move the pocket. Those 2 things make his height a non-issue. He has a very strong arm, and is very accurate. His mobility and speed are a plus as well. Smith is a proven leader that plays best on the big stage. He needs to continue to work and improve, but at this point he has everything I would want in a QB prospect. If the biggest knocks on him you have is his height and the fact that OSU outclassed their competition in almost every game, I think that saying something! There are just not many holes in his game. I don't care about size, I care about making plays, and Smith makes them. Most college QB's from big time programs out class their opposition more times then not....not a good reason for him becoming a bust IMO.

The size is just part of it. Besides, pointing out a few exceptions to the rule mean nothing. Especially when you throw Grossman into this, or Vick (who, if it weren't for his legs, wouldn't be starting)

Brunnel is another Quarterback that made up for size with his legs. He was decent at best once the legs went.

As for Romo, have you been watching Dallas lately? More balls batted back in his face than I care to see.

Just watch and see, Smith will fail as a starter in the NFL.

and I still can't believe you used Grossman as an example for anything. (although, it probably is a good comparison now that I think about it)

Agreed 100%

Actually I don't hate everything ND related. I actually like their RB, walker a lot. He impressed me against the Bucks last year and again last night. I think he has a nice future. I just hope they surround him with something next year to where he doesn't get killed.

I think that is the first positive thing I have ever heard you say about anything ND related.

I didn't say all were good, just gave you a list of QB's that had started, and yes, Grossman has started.

Also, you bring up a great point, Shorter QB's who succeed usually tend to be mobile in nature. It allows them to move the pocket outside of the linemen to avoid the batted ball issue. It just so happens, Smith has 4.5-4.6 speed and will be able to do this quite effectively.

Just watch and see, Smith will, be a better pro then Brady Quinn.

And if size is just part of it, please enlighten me to what other specific weaknesses he has that leads you to believe he will be a failure at the next level.

I'll say things positive about teams when I see them, even the ones I don't care for. I don't have pure hatred for ND the way I do Michigan, i just hate everything to do with that school. With Notre Dame it's simply the endless hype and over rating the media does for them. They should have never been discussed in the National title sceen this year, they just are not that good. Everytime they have a chance to prove me wrong, they prove me right.

There are some decent things about the program, and they are heading in the right direction long term if they can keep Weis. However, they still have a lot of work to do to get close to the elite program status they once enjoyed ,and still get undo credit for.

For one thing, he hangs on to the ball too long. His days of throwing to wide open receivers and having time to eat lunch before the pressure gets to him are over.

the speed means nothing to me. He won't be a running quarterback so that is a non issue. You don't need speed to be mobile in the pocket. But, if he works really hard, he can move that 4.6 40 time up to a 4.5 or faster for the combine and everyone will love him for a year or two until they realize he can't get it done successfully at the NFL level.

As for giving a list of quarterbacks that have started, what was the point in that? Many quarterbacks have been bad quarterbacks and started at the NFL level. Hell, Ryan Leaf started, doesn't mean they were good. Smith will go in the first round, or high 2nd round at the latest. That in itself will ensure he starts at some point, simply because of the money spent on him.

lol, the point is to show that SIZE has NOTHING to do with it!!! You can either play or you can't! Smith has proven he CAN play! And the speed has EVERYTHING to do with it, it will give him added time and the ability to move the pocket to find WR's.

As far as holding on to the ball too long, guess we'll have to see on that. He does tend to try to find the big play, but his legs enable him to do that at times as well. Every QB has something to work on.

But only time will tell, this is an area we won't agree on, so it's a mute point. You can build your team around a guy notorious for coming up small in big spots, i'll take the guy who comes up large in the largest of situations! And in the end, the careers of both QB's will tell the story.

Be a realist. Size does have something to do with it. I am not saying you can't be successful without being 6'4", but it helps, and helps in a big way.

You say size has nothing to do with it, then in the next sentence you say speed has everything to do with it.

Both help, but you are trying to make an argument simply to cater to Troy Smith, rather than looking at it from an unbiased point of view.

The most important thing to me is the ability to make quick decisions and act on them. I don't think Smith has that ability. If he doesn't have it now, he wont have it 3 years from now. To me, this is something you either have or don't have.

your putting words in my mouth, what my comment about the speed was is Smith's ability to move the pocket and create extra time.

I agree, speed doens't make you a great QB. It helps at times, but there is much more.

I disagree on the size. It doens't matter. Drew Brees was knocked on for it, I thought he'd be fine, why? B/c he can make plays!!!

And quick decisions?? Why do you say he can't? Smith has been very decisive and made very good decisions as a QB. I'm not sure where you are getting the impression he is a poor decsion maker? If he was, his completion % and INT's would be much worse then they are IMO. I've watched every game he has played in except for one, and I don't think this is a weakness at all.

I DID NOT say he was a poor decision maker. I said he takes too long to make his decisions. Things happen much quicker in the NFL. This is why guys like David Carr suck. Unless you give them forever and a day for plays to develop, they are stuck with the ball in their hands.

Stick with the argument I am making, don't change it.

again, not seeing the same thing you are. Smith is very decisive IMO and makes the decisions quickly. He will need to continue to improve and adjust to the speed of the NFL, but all QB's will need to make that adjustment.

Only on this forum can a Notre Dame thread get hijacked into damn Buckeye talk.

that is because ND and ND fans are big 10 wanna bes!