Sometime Saturday afternoon, with L.J. Smith sitting in his mother’s living room in Highland Park, N.J., his life will change.
The NFL draft starts at noon that day in the Garden, and Smith, a 22-year-old tight end from Rutgers, is a likely high-round pick.
He can barely contain his excitement.
“I can’t get to sleep until, like, 2 a.m.,” Smith said. “It’s exciting, because I know my whole life is about to change in a positive way. You’re fulfilling a dream.
“I’m doing something nobody in my town or my family has ever done. All my uncles on my mom’s side, they all played football, and they were good. I looked up to them, and when you come up and you’re doing more than they did, it’s like I finally made it.”
All of his uncles were good, but none had game like his.
At 6-foot-31/4 and 258 pounds, Smith is projected to go in the top three rounds, with ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper predicting he’ll go 62nd overall, to Philadelphia.
Not bad for a kid from a town of less than 15,000 – or for a young man who suffered through a four-year 7-38 record at Rutgers and closed out his RU career on a 22-game Big East losing streak.
Despite opposing defenses being able to key on him as Rutgers’ only offensive threat, Smith caught 32 passes for 384 yards and three TDs as a senior. He finished his career as the second-most productive tight end in RU history behind Marco Battaglia, but projects as a better pro.
Thanks to Jeremy Shockey’s success with the Giants, speedy tight ends are back in demand.
“[The position] would get exposure, then it would die,” Smith said. “Shockey’s done a lot for the position, opened eyes, showed if you get a tight end with athleticism and speed it adds a whole other dimension to your offense. I have to thank him for having such a good year.”
Smith’s athleticism was at times the only dimension in RU’s offense.
His stock fell when he pulled his hamstring before the Senior Bowl. But he recovered by training hard, and he turned in a great performance at the NFL’s scouting combine.
Smith – who added 40 pounds in college – did 26 reps at 225 pounds, posted a 37-inch vertical leap, and ran 40 yards in 4.65 seconds (the average is 4.83).
“I’m going to go work out, get some cardio,” Smith said as he left the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway yesterday.
“I’m on an eating-right kick – salads, grilled chicken. I’ve got to start taking care of my body, treat my body right. You’re your own franchise: L.J. Smith, Inc. If I don’t play, I don’t get paid.”
