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Turning on the Jets
By Joe Scalzo
Brad Smith makes the most of his opportunities
Photo
New York Jets wide receiver Brad Smith (16) outruns Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Adam Hayward (57) for a first down on a wildcat play during the first quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in Tampa, Fla.
YOUNGSTOWN
Former Chaney High coach Ron Berdis flew down to Tampa in mid-December to watch his former quarterback, Jets wide receiver Brad Smith, play a Week 14 game against the Buccaneers.
Smith didn’t have an amazing game but he did have a busy one, rushing five times for 16 yards, catching one pass for 4 yards, completing one pass for 27 yards and returning one kickoff for 16 yards and one punt for 21.
The Jets won 26-3. Even better, after spending the previous seven games as an offensive afterthought, Smith’s role seemed to be expanding.
“That was probably his breakout game,” said Berdis.
The next week, Smith caught two passes and ran it once in a loss to the Falcons. Then, on Dec. 27, he returned a kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown — the longest return in Jets history and second-longest in NFL history — to help New York hand the Colts their first loss, 29-15.
He struck again in Week 17, rushing four times for 92 yards to help the Jets blank Cincinnati. Three weeks later, he made arguably the biggest play of his NFL career, hitting Jerricho Cotchery for a 45-yard touchdown pass in the AFC championship game, which the Jets lost 30-17 to the Colts.
The season was over but after four seasons in the NFL, Smith’s career finally seemed ready to begin.
“It’s all about seizing the opportunity,” said Berdis. “He certainly proved he could be a worthwhile commodity for the Jets.
“All of us had been saying, ‘We knew he could do this all along. What took them so long to realize he could make plays?’ ”
—For the first 31‚Ñ2 years of his Jets career, Smith did his best to transition from a record-breaking college quarterback at Missouri to an NFL wide receiver. For most of that time, it meant playing on special teams. Then, the Jets gave him the ball more over the last half of last season and he produced.
“Hopefully opportunities like that will happen again,” he said. “Ever since I started with the Jets, I’ve tried to do whatever I could to help the team win, whether it meant making tackles on special teams or blocking or whatever.
“I wanted to earn the respect of my teammates and let them know I wanted to win.”
By the way, after getting drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 draft, Smith signed a four-year deal with the Jets worth about $2 million over the life of the deal.
In normal circumstances, he’d be an unrestricted free agent this spring. But, because the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is in its final year, new rules are in place, so Smith will be a restricted free agent instead.
The Jets have already said they’ll tender him an offer, limiting his market while basically guaranteeing he’ll only sign a one-year contract instead of a multi-year deal. Plus, the NFL seems headed for a lockout in 2011, which could shave a year off Smith’s career in a sport where the average NFL career is three years.
“I want to stay with the Jets,” he said. “I love the guys on that team and the experiences we’ve had together. On the business side, everyone wants to experience free agency and the opportunities out there but that’s something out of my control.
“I’ll wait and see what happens. As a football player, you can only control what you can control. You just try to make the best of your situation.”
Fourth-year offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had an up-and-down season, but the offensive grew along with rookie QB Mark Sanchez improved. Now that he knows what Smith is capable of, it’s a safe bet Schottenheimer will try to expand his role next fall.
“Hopefully that will happen,” said Smith. “We’re pretty excited about where we are. This year was a lot of fun. We went through a lot of ups and downs and that made me appreciate things more.”
Here’s another reason to stay in New York. Smith and his wife, Rosalynn, are expecting their first kid on July 11, a few weeks before training camp begins.
Last week, they found out it’ll be a boy.
“We’re pretty excited,” he said.
SEmD
Smith hasn’t forgotten his roots.
For the past two summers, Smith has hosted a free football camp for elementary and middle school kids. Several NFL players served as instructors.
When Chaney hired Jim Vivo as its new football coach, he exchanged text messages with him and wished him luck.
He speaks with Berdis regularly and even took the time to thank this reporter for the Vindicator’s recent coverage of the funeral of Bishop Norman Wagner, the pastor at Smith’s church in Youngstown, Mount Calvary Pentecostal.
“Every time that I’m fortunate enough to see him on TV, I just feel tremendously proud just to have been associated with him,” said Berdis. “He’s such an unassuming kid, you can’t hope for anything but the best for him.”
Smith graduated from Missouri 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.
In short, he’s not just an athlete. He’s a role model, Berdis said.
“He should be the poster child for the NFL,” Berdis said. “He’s what young kids should aspire to be. Youngstown should have his picture on a billboard as an example of success.
“Not just because he’s a professional football player but because he’s a professional person.”