[Buckskin86]

http://www.uticaod.com/archive/2004/...news/4532.html

Utica's Smith ends holdout, appears at Saints' camp
Standout defensive end 'anxious' to play
Mon, Aug 2, 2004

By RON MOSHIER
Observer-Dispatch
SMITH
Utica's Will Smith officially kicked off his National Football League career late Saturday, not long after signing a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract with the New Orleans Saints.

Smith, a 6-foot-3, 282-pound defensive end from Ohio State University and Thomas R. Proctor Senior High School, ended his brief holdout early Saturday, his flight from Columbus, Ohio, getting him to Metairie, La., and the Saints' training camp facility in time for his first official NFL practice session.

"I was very anxious to get out there," said Smith in Sunday's edition of The Times-Picayune. "Now that the contract stuff is out of the way, I can just focus on football."

Smith, selected 18th overall during April's NFL draft, could not be reached for a further comment on Sunday.

On Saturday, though, he reportedly signed a six-year contract. Financial terms were not released, but according to The Times-Picayune, the deal is expected to include bonuses of more than $6 million in the first year.

The total value of the first five years of the contract is believed to be $8.7 million, and with escalator and incentive clauses, Smith could earn almost $12 million.

The final year of the contract could be voided if certain performance incentives are met.

Smith, an all-state high school player at Proctor and an All-American at Ohio State, missed the first two days of the Saints' training camp, which began Thursday.

"I love football," he told The Times-Picayune, "so I was ready to get the deal done and get to camp."

Smith helped an unbeaten Ohio State team win the NCAA National Championship as a junior, and he was one of the Buckeyes' captains as a senior. He was named the Big Ten Conference's Defensive Player of the Year after his final year. As a senior, he had 10» sacks and 20 tackles for a loss, and the three-year starter finished fifth in school history with 21 career sacks.

"Will gives us another talented player to plug in up front in our defense," said Mickey Loomis, the Saints' vice president and general manager, in a statement released by the team. "He realized that to make the most of his rookie season, he couldn't miss any more time at training camp. This is a player we expect to make an impact, and we're thrilled to have him agree to terms and on his way to New Orleans."

Many experts who had projected Smith to be selected earlier in the NFL draft were even more surprised when the Saints, who already had two veteran defensive ends in Charles Grant and Darren Howard, used the No. 18 pick to take who they considered the best player available.

Smith, the first defensive end chosen and the second defensive lineman selected, is most respected for his ability to rush the passer. He could be used in passing situations, or even see significant playing time in a rotation with Grant and Howard.

Either way, Smith told The News-Star (Monroe, La.) in late June that he felt no pressure as the Saints' first-round draft choice.

"Not at all," Smith said, "because this team is good already so I don't feel I have to come in and make a big impact on the team. All I have to do is come in and find my role and eventually fit in and play with the rest of the guys."

Smith participated in the Saints' three-day mini-camp that ended June 18, but because he was still working toward his degree in criminology and graduating from Ohio State, NCAA rules forced him to miss all of the team's off-season conditioning and study sessions.

"I should be fine," Smith said during the mini-camp.

Temperatures were nearing the 100-degree mark that week, and Smith complained of the heat and a bout with asthma.

Saints head coach Jim Haslett said Smith would have to get used to the heat and humidity.

"Will is not in the football condition he should be in," Haslett said during the June mini-camp. "He's a talented kid. He's going to help us win a lot of games. But this is an eye-opening experience for him."

The Saints end their first week of camp Saturday with the annual Black & Gold Scrimmage. They begin a four-game exhibition season Aug. 13 against the New York Jets in the Louisiana Superdome.

Last year, New Orleans was 7-4 over the final 11 weeks of the season. The Saints, however, finished 8-8 and failed to make the NFL playoffs for the third consecutive year.