#87 Jaylen Smith
Class: Sophomore
Ht/Wt: 6-4/184
Position: Wide Receiver
Hometown: Pascagoula, MS
Twitter: @JaylenSmith_12
Thoughts: Going into last season it was hard to pinpoint who the breakout wide receiver was going to be from this freshman group. There was a lack of experience at the position and we knew that a couple of true freshman, at least, were going to have to step into a large role, especially with Staples getting hurt during the fall. While I was impressed with T. Samuel, and D. Peete, Jaylen wins my wideout ‘Diaper Dandy’ of 2015. (Was just informed Diaper Dandy is trademarked by Dick Vitale, so scratch that.)
I got this. How about…Jaylen wins my wideout ‘Formula Chugging Phenom’ of 2015. No, you’re right, that sucks.
Maybe…Jaylen wins my ‘Rattle Shaking Receiver’of 2015….nope, that’s dumb too.
Umm…the ‘Breast Milk Beast’ of 20-…….sorry. As soon as I typed I knew I had made a huge mistake. I’ll just pay the damn trademark fee.
Jaylen finished third on the team last year in receptions (29) and receiving yards (376) finishing behind the other two starters in Staples and Quick. Jaylen showed quickly that he could be a solid target in the Petrino passing game coming out the gate against the September opponents (Auburn, Houston, Clemson, and Samford) finishing the month tied as the leading receiver on the team (w/ Samuel and Crum). Once Quick and Staples got healthy his targets dropped some (as you’d expect) but he was always a threat on the opposite side of the field, especially for the deep ball, where he had 3 plays go for over 25 yards. His size is beneficial and he showed some speed off early in the year as well. The other nice thing to see in 2015 was that Jaylen stayed healthy and played in all 13 games, which isn’t easy to do. That time allowed him to get some extra live reps as well as practice reps with Lamar, which will pay off down the road. As Jackson played more at QB all the receivers took a hit as we just didn’t pass as much as when Bolin or Reggie was running the show. I’d expect that stat to change this year as Lamar gets more comfortable with the offense and his progressions, as the Spring Game seemed to confirm. Jaylen still has some things to work on, as all freshman do, but I was pleasantly surprised with how our coaching staff took this “2 star” athlete and began to mold him into what I think can be an All-ACC type player by the time he graduates. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
Sweet Tweet:
Cuba Gooding Jr. doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his acting. Dude so talented.
— Jaylen Smith (@JaylenSmith_12) April 26, 2016
The guy has had some good movie roles and was a decent OJ in the FX miniseries, but we can’t ignore that the man will literally take any role to grab a few dollars…
Agent: “Cuba, we got this movie about dogs running around in the snow with…”
Cuba: “I’ll do it”
Agent: “Cuba, got a TV movie about jurors literally dying in order of their seat number. I know, I know, it’s really corny, I’ll send it back with…”
Cuba: “I’ll do it”
Agent: “Cuba, we got this movie about a crime boss who kills a drug dealer but the drug dealer worked for a bigger crime boss…who may in fact work for an even bigger crime boss, I’m not really sure”
Cuba: “I’ll do it”
Agent: “Cuba, I know you just played a great role in ‘Boyz In The Hood’ but it’s my job to tell you about any script that hits my desk for you. Really hate to bug you with this, but there is a small part in a [chuckles] MacGyver episode where you would play the…”
Cuba: “I’ll do it”
(*conversations cannot be confirmed nor denied but roles are 100% accredited via IMDB)