12-01-2007, 09:27 AM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 10,828
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Total Points: 499,944.71
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Quote:
The waiting game
Ravens rookie quarterback Troy Smith has had plenty of practice being patient
By Don Markus | Sun Reporter
December 1, 2007
Troy Smith has silenced the skeptics before.
As a high school senior in Cleveland, Smith was one of the last players added to a celebrated recruiting class at Ohio State that featured Maurice Clarett, A.J. Hawk and Santonio Holmes.
The first time Smith ever lined up in practice for the Buckeyes as a freshman, it was at wide receiver. The first time he ever played in a game, it was returning a kick.
By the time the Ravens rookie quarterback left Columbus after last season, he won the Heisman Trophy - by the largest landslide since O.J. Simpson in 1968.
"You try not to take the approach in that you want to try to prove everybody wrong," Smith said yesterday after practice in Owings Mills. "It's definitely a similar situation. Me being the last guy [recruited], me being the guy that no one knew about, I let that fuel my fire and that was not the right way to do it."
Picked in the fifth round by the Ravens after his draft status plummeted following a poor performance in Ohio State's blowout loss to Florida in the Bowl Championship Series title game, Smith is again in a situation in which many are questioning his ability.
This time, Smith is going to take a different approach.
"With me being older now and having a better understanding, I take it for what it is. Everything happens for a reason," Smith, 23, said. "I'm not trying to play football to try to prove everybody wrong. I'm playing football to become an incredible quarterback. I'm playing football because I love the game."
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Asked this week whether he had any plans to use Smith, Billick said, "Not by design - other than there might be some isolated things that you might want to use Troy. Now that he's in the second position, you can put him in and out of the game if you want to change up a little bit."
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The waiting game -- baltimoresun.com
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Billick is understandably reluctant to entertain playing rookie backup quarterback Troy Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State who hasn't played a single NFL snap in the regular season. "He's continuing to learn," Billick said. "That's exactly where he's at and the responsibility that goes with that. Any rookie at this stage in the year that has not played, to go in would be an interesting challenge."
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Baltimore Ravens News - Notebook: Ravens holding tight for Patriots' onslaught
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