Chaney graduate Smith shows Jets his versatility

McClatchy Newspapers

NEW YORK — Chaney High graduate Brad Smith is no longer a gimmick, someone the New York Jets call on to run a gadget play when nothing else is working.

Smith, the former Missouri quarterback turned wide receiver, is now a legitimate, big-play threat anytime from anywhere on the field.

Smith made his biggest impact in the Jets’ 37-0 win over the Bengals last week that clinched a playoff spot for New York and set up today’s first-round rematch at Cincinnati.

On the sixth play of the game, Smith took a direct snap from center in the formation the Jets appropriately dub “Mizzou” and bolted a career-long 57 yards to the 1, setting up the game’s first touchdown.

And his 32-yard touchdown run from under center gave the Jets a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.

That gave Smith three touchdowns this season by scoring in three different ways: by rushing, by returning a kickoff 106 yards the week before at Indianapolis; and by rerunning a blocked punt 4 yards at New England on Nov. 22.

All that’s left for him to do in the playoffs is throw or catch a touchdown pass. That may be coming.

“He can pass the ball,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan, undoubtedly wanting to give the Bengals something else to think about when Smith enters the game. “Maybe we’ll find that out, too, one of these days.

“The thing that’s rare about Brad is you can use him underneath center and in the gun. You had Michael Vick and some great running quarterbacks. ...

“When you look at Brad Smith and what he accomplished on the college level, he was Tim Tebow and all those other guys before any of them. The guy is a phenomenal athlete. Now we’re really taking advantage of it.”

Indeed, Smith became the first player in NCAA history to pass for at least 8,000 yards and run for another 4,000 yards when he helped resurrect Missouri football under Gary Pinkel during 2002-05. When the Jets took him in the fourth round of the 2006 draft, they knew they had an athlete, but they had to find a position for him.

So all Smith has done is run the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball, return kicks and cover kicks.

“I just try to take advantage of the opportunities given to me,” said Smith, still the humble and soft-spoken individual he was at Missouri. “I try to help this team.

“It’s all about the team. You can ask any guy in this locker room, and they’ll sacrifice anything to help this team win. That’s what’s beautiful about [this team].”

For the season, Smith, who wears the same No. 16 he wore in college, has carried 18 times for 207 yards — an average of 11.5 yards per carry. He has caught seven passes for 63 yards. He’s returned 10 kickoffs for a 31-yard average and one punt for 21 yards . He’s also made 15 special-team tackles.

And he showed the whole gamut in a win at Tampa Bay when Smith became the fifth player in NFL history to complete a pass (for 27 yards from punt formation), catch a pass and record a rushing attempt, kickoff return and punt return in the same game.

“Brad Smith is a unique player in that he does so many things,” Jets running back Thomas Jones said. “He is, to me, one of the best all-purpose guys in the league.

“I think he’s very underrated. With a guy like Brad Smith in the game, it keeps the defense off-balance. They’re not sure of what he is going to do. It helps us as an offense and as a team.”

After missing three games because of a quadriceps injury, Smith inherited much of the wildcat — or direct snap — duties from running back Leon Washington, who was lost for the season to a fractured fibula in the seventh game.

The Jets changed the name of the scheme from Seminole (Washington went to Florida State) to Missouri in Smith’s honor, and some variations are known as Tiger.

“We started giving [Smith] the ball more,” Ryan said. “He’s always had that ability. [Offensive coordinator] Brian Schottenheimer said ’Hey, let’s put him back there,’ and came up with a lot of plays for him.”

The Jets actually used Smith as a slash player before Miami made the wildcat all the rage last year. Smith carried the ball 42 times in his first three seasons in addition to 53 receptions and completing one of three passes.

“We were one of the first teams to do it,” Smith said of the wildcat.