OJ Smith to forgo senior season, enter NFL Draft

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He's got the size and there's really no question that the defense was better when he was out there. I wish him well!
 

Why does he keep getting concussions? Do defensive tackles tend to get a lot of concussions? What's causing him to get all these concussions in such a short amount of time?
 

Goldteam said:
Why does he keep getting concussions? Do defensive tackles tend to get a lot of concussions? What's causing him to get all these concussions in such a short amount of time?
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Getting hit in the kneecaps repeatedly.
 

Goldteam said:
Why does he keep getting concussions? Do defensive tackles tend to get a lot of concussions? What's causing him to get all these concussions in such a short amount of time?
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A couple issues with concussions.

1. When you get one, the next one is easier to get, and each one after that is easier.

2. Much of the concern about head trauma isn't from the one big hit, but the repeated knocks on your head that aren't "concussion" level. So just getting your helmet getting knocked repeatedly without being vicious is enough to cause some light injury to the brain. If adequate time (days) isn't allowed to let that injury heal, additional hits will further stress the brain preventing healing making it more concussion prone.

It's a tough deal for anyone who is trying to make it to the NFL and is starting to get concussions. You may as well take your shot to land a contract sooner without absorbing the additional hits vs possibly ending your career before you ever get a taste of the draft.
 

Goldteam said:
Why does he keep getting concussions? Do defensive tackles tend to get a lot of concussions? What's causing him to get all these concussions in such a short amount of time?
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I don't think he has had more than one.
 




Good luck to him in the NFL Draft. Some team will give him a decent shot if not drafted.

Getting Grad Transfer Micah Drew-Treadway hopefully will help stuff the run as OJ Smith has helped do. We need those OJ Smith/Hageman type strong big immovable plugs in the interior of the DL.

I am optimistic about the DL with all the upgrades.

It seems like concussions happen more frequently with OL and DL than I imagine. Once you have one, I hear you are mostly likely to get more.
 
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With those that think he is taking a shot at going pro now because given his injury history he is hoping to cash in before he has to give up playing football. He is unlikely to get drafted and is going to have to fight for his NFL life to make a roster but hopefully it works out for him.

Sorry to see him go but I can understand why he would choose to take a run at it, even if he is a bit of a long shot to make it.
 



hungan1 said:
Good luck to him in the NFL Draft. Some team will give him a decent shot if not drafted.

Getting Grad Transfer Micah Drew-Treadway hopefully will help stuff the run as OJ Smith has helped do. We need those OJ Smith/Hageman type strong big immovable plugs in the interior of the DL.

I am optimistic about the DL with all the upgrades.

It seems like concussions happen more frequently with OL and DL that I imagine. Once you have one, I hear you are mostly likely to get more.
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There's just more repeated contact around the head when you're nose-to-nose with the opponent.

As for Smith, best of luck. Like a couple of others have said, I think any defense benefits greatly from a space-eater in the middle that can take up a couple of blocks and free up the guys behind him to get into the backfield.
 

How many 6th year guys pan out or make the NFL? I'm assuming very few. Injuries are usually red flags. He has nothing more to prove on the field. Great decision by OJ!

Follow your dreams and then enter the real world.
 

Winnipegopher said:
College fans disagree but it is almost always financially better to leave. it is even more dramatic in basketball where far more players make a living playing professionally. Use Jordan Murphy as an example. Is he any closer to the NBA now than he was as a sophomore? No, but he has lost 2 years of making 200K in Europe that he won't get back. Playing 4 years in college will not extend his career as a professional basketball player although there may be an argument it gets a better starting salary in Europe.

That said, maybe the education is worth it to him (although he could have done that and played overseas) or the quality of life/ life satisfaction is better as a 4 year player- but the money certainly isn't.
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Gophers_4life said:
Yeah when you put it like that ... with basketball, you almost can make the case that top talent should just go pro immediately (once 18). Europe/overseas, D-league, whatever. There seems to be little gained in a season at a top university, other than whatever bagmen deliver to the player and his family I suppose. But that might all come crumbling down with the FBI investigation.

Football though, the NFL has such a global monopoly on professional American football, and so little of a professional development system .... because they've specifically partnered with major college football to BE the development farm system, at zero cost to the NFL, and baked it into the requirements to go that route.

But clearly OJ has far more to risk (another concussion likely ends his career for good) playing another season in college, than he does giving it a shot to make a practice squad.

Good luck to him!!
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The other thing to consider in the NFL is that your second contract is usually X% more than your first contract (unless you become a superstar), whatever value that contract was. So if you are a 4th round player this year and get $400K (or whatever) a year, all your future contracts will be baselined by that number. If you are a 3rd round player the following year and get $600K (or whatever), even if you miss a year, you can easily make up the amount from that year.

It's a complex issue. Each player has a little different scenario based on their injury history, current projection, etc. Don't know if OJ will be better served leaving or staying, but he's made his choice and I wish him nothing but the best!
 

Let's hope he makes a practice squad somewhere. Otherwise, there is always the CFL.
 



Big athletic defensive linemen get drafted every year. I love how you all have just written him off as undrafted free agent already. At least let the combine happen and go from there. Maybe he puts up monster numbers and he gets drafted easily. As a gopher fan wouldn't you rather have that?
 

bottlebass said:
Big athletic defensive linemen get drafted every year. I love how you all have just written him off as undrafted free agent already. At least let the combine happen and go from there. Maybe he puts up monster numbers and he gets drafted easily. As a gopher fan wouldn't you rather have that?
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You never know how a player pans out. We are not writing him off completely. Being one of 254 or so players drafted is still a possibility.
 

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