Smith's talent, nature noticed

Chaney High graduate Brad Smith has been turning a lot of heads the last two seasons as the quarterback for the University of Missouri.
In 20 career starts before Saturday's game against Colorado, Smith had thrown for over 3,500 yards, rushed for just under 1,900 has accounted for 42 touchdowns.
That's why it's not hard to believe Smith has reportedly received correspondence from the Downtown Athletic Club of New York -- the group that awards the Heisman Trophy.
But this month, Smith is receiving an "award" of another kind, as the cover story in the November issue of "Sharing The Victory," a publication of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
The story, by "STV" editor David Shale, is entitled, "Eyes on the Tiger."
Smith's journey from Youngstown to Missouri is chronicled, including how his college coach, Gary Pinkel, had to pass a test of sorts with the pastor of Smith's church.
Faith and character
Even though Shale slips by misspelling Chaney as "Cheney," he does a splendid job of going past the raw numbers Smith has produced and dwells instead on his faith and character.
"He's a better young man than he is a football player," Pinkel is quoted in the article. "He's a remarkable young man."
One of the lasting scenes from this college football season was footage of a post-game melee on the field at Missouri, just moments after Smith's team upset Nebraska. As fans ran onto the field, one was knocked down by a Nebraska player.
The scene, repeated several times on television, showed Smith coming by moments later to help up the injured fan.
That kind of behavior was indicative of Smith's perspective, according to Pinkel.
"[Smith] doesn't tell his teammates what they should do from a Christian perspective," Pinkel is quoted in the article. "He lives it, he acts and he eats it. It's who he is.
"Everybody has their way of communicating their beliefs. He does it purely by how he acts."
Smith, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 201 pounds, is well on his way to a record-setting collegiate career. He's not using college football simply as a stepping stone to an NFL career; expect him to play all four years at Missouri and to earn his degree first.
Surely, with the kind of numbers he's put up so far, Smith will be coveted by professional teams. His character, leadership qualities and faith should carry him far.
The Smith article can be accessed at www.fca.org.
Clarett's woes
If the stories circulating from Columbus of Maurice Clarett's academic misconduct are true, shame on him.
While we've tried to be sympathetic to Clarett's side of the controversies that have surrounded him almost since his arrival at Ohio State, he surely must understand that his conduct will have a direct effect on his future, not only as college student-athlete, but what he hopes will be a lucrative professional football career.
Certainly, Ohio State officials and coaches must be careful about what, if anything, they say in regards to the stories published Saturday by The Columbus Dispatch. There are strict laws that don't allow a student's privacy, which includes his academic conduct, to be released or talked about.
And, if it's proven that the information about Clarett's alleged classroom misconduct were supplied by university employees, they should be terminated from their positions, at the very least.
Still, the old tenet that any publicity is good publicity certainly doesn't apply to Clarett. He, his family and advisers, should be painfully aware that any negative news will do nothing to help his case in the court of public opinion.
We've been hearing for months -- the few times the Clarett camp has spoken on the record -- that he will be exonerated once his side of the story can be told.
Regardless, he and his advisers must be aware that any bad publicity, regardless of its validity, can't be helpful.
XRob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor@vindy.com.