Smith at Chaney's door as well as NFL's doorstep

Most likely, the quarterback will be switched to another position.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Brad Smith was visiting Chaney High School a few weeks ago when his stepbrother, Reggie Brogdon, walked up to him and asked to borrow a dollar.
"Brad didn't bat an eye," Chaney football coach Ron Berdis said. "He opened his wallet and there was one dollar in it. I said, 'Reggie, he hasn't made a dollar yet and you're borrowing his last one.' "
Berdis laughed. He's got a million stories like that. For instance, Smith once won a golf club in a video game competition. Problem was, Smith's not a golfer. So he gave it to Berdis.
"He said 'Coach, I'll never use this,' " Berdis said. "It's still in the box. I told him, 'I'll just hold it for you. I've got a feeling you'll be playing some golf in the future.' "
Or there's this one: Smith was back visiting Chaney -- pretty much every time the Missouri quarterback comes back to Youngstown, he makes a point of visiting Chaney -- and he came to practice. And he wouldn't leave. By the time everyone was ready to go home, Smith was still throwing a ball at the goal post.
And there's this one: A couple weeks back, Smith got one of the Chaney players, Kory Jackson, out of study hall and threw a football with him for an hour and a half.
"That's the type of young man he is," Berdis said. "I always use the word 'unassuming.' He's the same type of kid he was in high school.
"There's still a lot of kid in Brad."
Making it big
The thing you need to remember about Smith is that practically no Division I colleges recruited him out of Chaney. But a guy named Gary Pinkel, who was the head coach at Toledo at the time, saw something in Smith. Next thing you know, Pinkel gets hired at Missouri and invites Smith to come along.
Good move. In Smith's first college game -- a nationally-televised game against Illinois on ABC -- he gained 290 yards of offense and was named the Big 12 offensive player of the week.
Over the next four years, Smith broke or tied 69 school, conference and NCAA records, including the NCAA's career rushing record by a quarterback. He capped his career by gaining 432 yards of total offense in the 2005 Independence Bowl, rallying the Tigers from a 21-0 deficit to beat South Carolina 38-31.
"There's some glaring numbers," Pinkel said. "He's done things no one else has done."
And he's about to take the next step. Problem is, the NFL's not quite sure what to do with him. Is he a quarterback?
A wide receiver?
An athlete?
"He's probably the most unique player in the draft," said his agent, Mark Bartelstein. "It's really hard to say what's going to happen."
The scouts agree on a couple things. First, Smith is a tremendous athlete, one of the best to ever play quarterback.
Second, he's good enough to play in the NFL.
Third, he'll probably have to switch positions -- at least at first -- if he wants to get on the field.
"I'm willing to help a team in other ways," Smith said. "Maybe as a wide receiver or a punt returner. I'd like to play quarterback, but if I can help a team in another way while I'm learning to play quarterback, I'll do it.
"I'm just looking forward to getting the opportunity to play and show what I can do."
Similar situation
Smith's situation isn't unique to the NFL -- or even this draft.
Scouts love Texas quarterback Vince Young, but they're not sure he's going to be a terrific NFL quarterback.
Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson is a little like Smith in that he'll likely have to switch positions. Same with Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans.
It's nothing new. Kordell Stewart was the original Slash, but he's not the only Pittsburgh player to switch positions after college.
Antwaan Randle El, a run/pass QB at Indiana, was a key member of the Steelers' Super Bowl winning team as a wide receiver.
Steelers wideout Hines Ward (the reigning Super Bowl MVP) and Jacksonville tight end Matt Jones also went from throwing passes in college to catching them in the pros.
"Brad wants to play quarterback but it's up to the NFL teams to analyze what their needs are," said Pinkel, who has coached several future NFL QBs, including Chris Chandler and Mark Brunell. "Can he make a roster as a first, second or third quarterback?
"I think he can. But his greatest NFL position might be somewhere else."
Added Berdis, "For what it's worth, I don't know what the experts know, but I believe that someone that committed, who works that hard, you've gotta believe there's a chance for him to play quarterback. That's what he wants."
Where will he go? When will he go? What will he play? Smith's faced these questions pretty much non-stop since the draft frenzy started four months ago. But let's put that on hold for a moment. Because if you only focus on his athletic ability, you're missing something.
Smith graduated from Missouri last spring with a bachelor's degree in marketing. He's about a semester short of a master's degree in economics. He's been a speaker at Chaney's football banquet and a speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
When you ask him what he sticks out about his college career, he doesn't mention statistics or beating Nebraska or winning bowl games.
Instead, he'll say this: "I appreciate the relationships I built with my teammates. I was a captain for two years and they trusted me on the field, to be the one who was going to go out and make a play. That's something I really appreciated about college."
He talks often with his mother, Sherri Brogdon, but they rarely talk about football.
"We just talk about everything that's going on. Things that are going on in life, things that are going on in the city. Things like that," Smith said.
"The thing is," Pinkel said, "he's got character like no one I've ever met. And that's not an exaggeration. You talk to Brad for a couple hours and you think, 'Nobody can be like that.' But he is."
The next step
And that's one of the big reasons NFL teams are interested. Scouts from about a dozen NFL teams have visited Missouri's campus in recent weeks to watch Smith work out. No one's quite sure where he'll end up, but there's little question he'll end up somewhere.
"He'll get drafted and I think he'll get drafted on the first day," Bartelstein said. "There's no doubt he's a little bit different, but he's done a great, great job helping himself over the last month.
"The one thing I do know is, he's going to be a terrific NFL player."
But no matter how good of a football player he is, he's a better person, Berdis said. And that won't change.
"I'm absolutely 100 percent convinced that being in the NFL won't change him one bit," Berdis said. "He should be the poster child for NCAA football, for everything positive and good and wholesome about sports in general, not just football.
"For a young kid, what better role model is there than Brad Smith? The way he carries himself is truly inspirational."
scalzo@vindy.com