Jaylon Smith met with the media for the first time since he tore his ACL and LCL in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1, and naturally, was consistently asked about the state of his surgically-repaired knee.
The ever-confident former Notre Dame linebacker offered a declaration couched in the fact it hasn’t even been two months since he suffered that devastating injury against Ohio State.
“I’m going to be 100 percent again,” Smith said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis Friday. ”We just don’t know when.”
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Smith wasn't clear on whether or not he had nerve damage in his knee, which has been speculated since he underwent surgery in early January. Earlier this week, Smith shared a video of him walking with a knee brace, which sparked this tweet and an article by Dr. David Chao for NFPost.com.
There also have been reports Smith would be healthy for the beginning of the 2016 season which, nerve damage or not, seems an unlikely scenario. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport offered this:
The presence of nerve damage could significantly affect Smith's draft stock, which hasn't slipped too much even after his injury. Rotoworld's Josh Norris ranked Smith as the 2016 NFL Draft's 14th-best prospect ahead of the NFL Combine this week. Smith did say Friday he purchased loss-of-value insurance for himself prior to Notre Dame's 2015 season.
[MORE: Jaylon Smith is worth the risk, says Mike Mayock]
Still, the immensely self-assured Smith didn't waver in his belief he'll be a star in the NFL once his knee is back to 100 percent.
"I'm a long-term guy," Smith said. "I'm going to be a very impactful player for a long time. It's just getting healthy. That's really all I can focus on."