Jaylen

Smith

Smith (6'2/219) is a big receiver, but he still ran 4.47 seconds, making him one of the better weight-adjusted straight-line athletes in the class. However, the rest of his athletic profile isn’t impressive, which keeps him, at best, in the Day 3 territory. The Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard said that Smith moves in and out of his breaks like a tight end, and he was surprised that he was invited to the Senior Bowl last month. There’s a chance that Smith goes undrafted.

Smith (6'2/221) had himself an inconsistent and largely quiet week in practice, and that quietude carried over to Saturday’s contest. The Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard was miffed that the Louisville wideout received an invitation to Mobile to begin with, writing in his Friday rundown of the most disappointing prospects for the week, “It was clear from day 1 that Smith didn’t belong with the rest of the receivers on the field, struggling to separate, taking too many steps in his releases and breaks and moving more like a tight end than a wide receiver.” The analyst believes that Smith is in serious jeopardy of going undrafted barring a surprise combine domination.

Smith (6'4/220) was not impervious to the failings of Louisville in 2018, as the 2-10 Cardinals struggled to move the football. After posting a 60/980/7 line, his numbers fell to 36/550/1. With his size and red-zone skills, he’ll definitely players keep an eye on, and it should help Smith that he gets to play with legitimate quarterbacks in Mobile.

Smith and freshman wideout Tutu Atwell both had eight catches in this one, and both went over the century mark. They could have had 300 yards a piece and it wouldn’t have mattered because their defense is so bad, but it’s a nice game for the talented senior. It’s the second time in four games that the 6-foot-4, 223-pound wideout has gone over a hundred yards, but he still has just the one touchdown. He’ll try and keep the good run going against Clemson next Saturday.

Smith (6'4/223) should have had a sharper game, but Jawon Pass sailed a few on him to leave the senior stranded at 100 yards even on the afternoon. He had not even topped 40 yards receiving prior to Saturday’s contest. Louisville’s passing game this season has been uneven, to be kind. Smith will try to make it two straight 100-yard games when the Cardinals take on Georgia Tech next weekend.

Both the catch and yardage figures were career-highs. Smith is really coming on. A lanky outside weapon, the sophomore has now scored in four straight games and in six of seven.

In addition, head coach Bobby Petrino also announced on Monday that fellow WR Jonathan Greenard will miss spring practices with an injury. Following the season, Smith underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his foot. As a sophomore, Smith snagged 27 passes for 599 yards and six touchdowns. With James Quick and Jamari Staples having graduated, Smith could be in line for a breakout season working with 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.

Smith missed spring practice while recovering from surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his foot, but Petrino passed along on Tuesday that the junior wideout is “healed up and going full speed.” This past season, he logged a 27-599-6 receiving line. Assuming he can maintain his health, Smith is expected to take on a heavy workload this coming season with both James Quick and Jamari Staples graduating.

Smith is looking for his breakout campaign in 2017 after posting a 56-975-7 line over his first two seasons combined with Lamar Jackson at Louisville. “At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, he has a large, NFL-caliber frame,” Trapasso wrote.

Pauline said that Smith (6'4/220) showed “next level” ability after catching nine passes for 183 yards and a score. “Smith showed deep speed, reliable hands and overall pass catching skills,” Pauline also said. For the year, Smith has caught 17 passes for 300 yards after catching just 27 passes as a junior. He’ll look to add to that total in a must-see game against Clemson this week.