On the move again

[PonyPride]

A week after reporting that Justin Smart will be a backup nose tackle, the Ponies' team-wide lack of depth has caused the coaches to continue moving players around. Smart, who will be a senior in the fall, is expected to play this season at SAM (strongside) linebacker.

[Charleston Pony]

makes more sense

[Junior]

I thought we were fairly deep at LB?

[OC Mustang]

Linebackers in 3-4 almost always move up to bring the heat at one spot or another. Rarely will one see a 3-4 with the backers just staying at home if the defense is being aggressive.

Smart will play a solid SAM. He was on his way there the year before last. He was a team player and stayed on special teams last year b/c of his late-season goof-ups the year before. And frankly, he may not start anyway, as the team does indeed have some depth at LB. However, IMHO, it's a good choice for him. If he shows even partly the flashes of talent that he showed his senior year in high school, he should have a very solid year.

[SMU21TCU10]

Good. I was worried about having a 230 lb nose tackle!

[Charleston Pony]

he was a pretty good pass rusher and I think that's why he wound up playing as an undersized DE when he 1st got here; he belongs in the LC grouping and I would expect he could earn some time in passing situations. Would be nice for SMU to build some big leads and have our opponents have to air it out to play comeback.