FB/TE Brandon Smith (official thread)

[ohiobuck94]

Smith an LB from Euclid. Rated #3 LB in the State.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ozone

8/23/05

At tight end, there were some new faces as well in the jersey scrimmage, one of them not so familiar, and one of them very familiar. Former linebacker Brandon Smith has moved to tight end, and standout linebacker Bobby Carpenter has gotten some snaps on offense at tight end as well in the continuation of an experiment that started last spring.

"The guy who is playing a lot of tight end is Brandon Smith," said Tressel. "He did a whale of a job today. Bobby Carpenter played some tight end today. He caught a pass. We used him some there because Rory (Nicol) has been banged up and Ryan Hamby we have not worked night and day because he's coming off injury. He (Hamby) ran all the ones stuff, but we didn't double him up on multiple groups. Brandon Smith probably played more than anyone," said Tressel.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com (free)

8/25/05

The team practiced for about an hour at the stadium prior to the scrimmage. Brandon Smith, now wearing No. 87 as a tight end, looked pretty good in drills.

[jimotis4heisman]

i do not know if it was shown on tv, but after pittman scored with 24 seconds to go, smith was all over tressel calling for two. shows obviously the kids head was in the game, and such. it hadnt been mentioned thought id jsut mention it.

[crazybuckfan40]

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

i do not know if it was shown on tv, but after pittman scored with 24 seconds to go, smith was all over tressel calling for two. shows obviously the kids head was in the game, and such. it hadnt been mentioned thought id jsut mention it.

I didnt see it, but that just shows that the whole team is in the game the whole game.

[WestEnd]

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

i do not know if it was shown on tv, but after pittman scored with 24 seconds to go, smith was all over tressel calling for two. shows obviously the kids head was in the game, and such. it hadnt been mentioned thought id jsut mention it.

check the clip Mili posted ... you can see him in at JT's side right after pittman scores in the go ahead TD.

[BB73]

Here's transcript of an online chat with Brandon.

official.site

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Senior tight end Brandon Smith was the first of several student-athletes from the Ohio State football team to hold a live online chat on OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Read a full transcript of the chat below.

Smith, a fifth-year senior from Euclid, Ohio, came to Ohio State as a linebacker in 2004. In 2005, Smith was moved to tight end to replace injured Rory Nicol and Ryan Hamby. That season, he played in 11 games and earned his first letter. The family resource management major saw game action in 11 games as a sophomore and played in all 13 games last season.

Cont'd ...

[Oh8ch]

Word on another board that he is taking reps at FB.

[Buckskin86]

OSU notebook: Senior tight end joins fullback mix
Sunday, August 17, 2008
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

While the prospect of Curtis Terry playing fullback for Ohio State now appears dim, the Brandon Smith fullback experiment is glowing.

Think Stan White Jr., and the way he was used at fullback after moving from tight end a couple of years ago -- that's what Smith is doing. The senior is lining up in the I formation some, lining up as an H back some, sharing time at the spot with Ryan Lukens and freshman Jermil Martin.

"In our offense, the tight end and fullback are virtually the same guy, just in different positions," Smith said after yesterday's jersey scrimmage, won by the offense. "It won't be uncommon for me to flex out and move into the backfield, and vice versa."

His No. 87 might look strange in the backfield when he is lead blocking for Chris "Beanie" Wells, and "every-body is concerned about my jersey number, am I going to change it?" Smith said. "I say 'No, I'm going to stay.' Stan wore 89. I'm going to wear 87."

Terry changed his jersey number from 55 to 99 to accommodate his possible use as either a fullback or as an outside linebacker. But the past week he practiced pretty much on the defensive side, which was fine with him.

"I have no idea (how he's going to be used), man. I'm just enjoying it," Terry said. "Whatever the team needs, I'm willing to do.

"They could put me anywhere. They could put me at long snapper, punter, I don't care."

He has never long snapped nor punted, "but I could."

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : OSU notebook: Senior tight end joins fullback mix

[osugrad21]

Rivals$

Brandon discusses his move to fullback and some of the skills he brings to the position.

[Buckskin86]

Buckeyes banding together
Monday, August 25, 2008
Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter


Gus Chan/The Plain Dealer
The gray "Thank You God, I Am Grateful" bands have brought OSU players closer

Columbus- The gray wristbands were everywhere this preseason, worn by nearly every Ohio State player you'd come across. "Thank You God, I Am Grateful" was inscribed in black on the gray bands, and you figured they were Jim Tressel's idea.

Right there, on page 43 of his new book, "The Winner's Manual," Tressel wrote about what he calls the attitude of gratitude - "I want our players to be continually reminded of how fortunate they are and what they have to be grateful for."

But Tressel was not the creator of the bands, just an eventual recipient. Instead, they came courtesy of Euclid High grad Brandon Smith, who must have been paying attention to Tressel. Smith got one from his mom, Elzoria, who got it from co-worker Toni Garbo, who had started a Web site to distribute the wristbands then ignored it.

Smith hasn't taken the wrist band off in more than a year, and he now has cre ated a fashion trend among his teammates.

"One guy has something and everybody wants one," linebacker James Laurinaitis said.

Smith also has more to be grateful for than he ever expected. As a fifth-year senior, the linebacker-turned tight end-turned fullback will start for the Buckeyes when they open the season against Youngstown State on Saturday.

The wristbands must work.

"We are just so proud of him," Elzoria Smith, the human resources manager at WJW Channel 8, said of her son.

"He really wanted to be a Buckeye, and he really wanted to contribute. And things have just worked out. We are truly grateful."

Just two weeks ago, Smith was unexpectedly transferred out of the tight ends meetings room and sent to live among the running backs, told he'd be working out at fullback for the first time since seventh grade. Ohio State's fullback search had gone through several position converts, and Smith was the next in line.

Buckeyes banding together - Cleveland.com

[osugrad21]

BN Free--Smith Gets First Start As Fifth-Year Senior

[Buckskin86]

Fullback Smith is ready, sore feet and all
Friday, September 5, 2008
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

He's got sore feet, but he's going to start in the backfield anyway for Ohio State on Saturday against Ohio University.

No, not tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells. Coach Jim Tressel announced yesterday that Wells will not play but will instead let his injured right foot fully heal for next week's game at Southern California.

This story is about fifth-year senior fullback Brandon Smith. He suffers from chronic turf toe in both feet. But with this being his first season as a bona fide starter, he'd likely run barefoot on hot coals if it means playing.

Finally, the linebacker-turned-tight end-turned-fullback has a spot he can call his own, and he wants to be out there as much as possible.

"The neat thing about Brandon Smith is that he has worked hard for four years already; this is his fifth year, so it doesn't surprise me that he is ready to contribute," running backs coach Dick Tressel said. "That's the kind of person he is. He's persistent; adversity didn't bother him."

His feet have bothered him for years, but he tries not to show it. Senior tight end Rory Nicol, a close friend, has watched Smith deal with it.

"He said something to me the other day, 'I'd love to just sit down for a week and not even walk on my feet,' but unfortunately, you need 'em," Nicol said.

It's not that Smith believes he deserves a pat on the back for playing with pain.

"I think it's just part of football," Smith said. "I don't think any guy is 100 percent healthy. Something is aching. There's some pain somewhere. You've just got to learn to play with it and fight through it."

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Fullback Smith is ready, sore feet and all

[scarletngray]

I just wanted to give some kudos to Brandon Smith. He has been pretty solid as a blocker in the I Formation, and caught a couple nice balls today for first downs.

Way to go Brandon....

[daveeb]

I was very happy to see Pryor throw the ball to Brandon Smith today. He seems like a very reliable option, and it was nice to see Smith used as a checkdown option.