Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Meet The Streak That Chased Down 'B-Lock'
August 16, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
Junior tailback Brian Lockridge catches a short pass and begins accelerating toward the east sideline where his teammates and coaches are watching. Keep this in mind: "B-Lock" can motor; catching him from behind might be as rare as a cheetah being run down. Yet after a 6- or 7-yard gain, Lockridge is on the ground - and immediately looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I looked back and said, 'You kidding me?'" Lockridge recalled. "When he saw me bust out, he took the right angle. I'm used to outrunning guys, but I wasn't surprised it was him.
"If anybody was going to catch me, it would be him. He's a fast kid and his knowledge of the game . . . well, he's picking it up pretty fast."
How fast? A safety from Paterson, New Jersey (Passaic County Tech), Smith already was working with the No. 2 defense - backing up starter Ray Polk - after only a couple of whistles had blown in camp's opening week.
It didn't take him long to impress new secondary coach Ashley Ambrose. Despite Smith's size - he's a shade under 5-foot-10 and at 185 pounds is 10 heavier than in high school - when Ambrose hit the "PLAY" button to watch Smith's highlight tape he saw something special.
"The minute I saw his film, I knew he was a guy who was going to play hard, be physical . . . and that's all you ask," Ambrose said. "He's the kind of guy you want on the field . . . we'll see how things go (for the rest of camp), but he's going to be hard to redshirt."
Smith sees the value in taking a first season to learn, further condition himself and eventually be a fifth-year senior. "I'll know more and play better then," he said. "But, yeah, I really want to play."
Smith also played tailback in high school, with numerous Division I-AA outfits back east eyeing him for offensive and defensive duty. He drew looks from Boston College and Pittsburgh as a corner, and eyes widened when coaches watched him on defense. High school coach John Iurato said as a safety, Smith is "ferocious . . . he hits like a truck" - and Iurato didn't say a mid-sized truck. "He does the things that need to be done in the middle of the field."
Smith acknowledges that he's likely to be in a learning mode for awhile at this level and currently is making his name known through his diligence and aggressive play. Right away, Ambrose saw Smith's ferocity and familiarity with the game, but also recognized his unfamiliarity with terminology.
"That's what he's trying to figure out now," Ambrose said. "In high school you don't do as much coverage-wise. Now, it gets a little complicated. But he'll pick it up. He's still in the process of learning it and he's doing an awesome job.
"In the scrimmage, he played his butt off. He led the team in tackles (four of his 10 were unassisted). He was everywhere, he flew around, he had a big hit . . . all I say is when this kid sees what we're doing and understands it, the sky's the limit."
When I asked Smith what he believes he brings to the party, he answered, "Toughness and being physical . . . I just like the contact and hitting people, that's really what I do. And I like trying to be a quarterback on the field. I love being around the ball and making hits, making plays."
When Smith really understands his role in Ambrose's defense, Lockridge projected the "Passaic Predator" will "turn into one of those guys you need to know where he's at at all times. He's a big hitter; he doesn't mind putting his head down and hitting someone - which is good when you play that safety position. And with his speed, he can recover. He's one guy you're going to have to look out for.
"Actions definitely speak louder than words with him . . . . In a couple of years he's going to be a great player if he keeps going the way he's going."
When Smith touched down in Boulder earlier this summer, he had two goals: Get as familiar with the defensive playbook as he could before camp opened and put on at least 10 pounds. Strength and conditioning coach Jeff Pitman's now-famous calorie-packed (1,200) shakes and stringent weight lifting helped him with the poundage. And a strict, no-nonsense head-in-the-playbook approach at least got him acquainted with what Ambrose sought in defensive sets.
"Everything to him, he's serious about it . . . you go in the locker room, some guys might be playing video games, some guys listening to music, some guys on their phones. But he's got his book open; I'm not the only one who sees that," Ambrose said.
"He has something with him and you don't even have to get on the field to see it. I've only seen him smile twice - once at dinner and once when I offered him a scholarship. That's the only two times."
That might be an embellishment; he appeared to smile at least once (maybe I asked a stupid question) during our interview after a practice last week. But the kid can be eerily serious. When we talked about him running down Lockridge in the scrimmage, he almost seemed incensed at the suggestion that it was too rare to happen again.
"That's not a rare thing for me - that's what I do," he said, not smiling. "I know I'm fast; I use it to my advantage. I caught 'B-Lock' and wasn't surprised at all that I caught him. I'm fast enough to catch people, fast enough to catch fast people. It's football and I've been playing since I was young. It just carries over now to catching and tackling somebody."
He recalls his best 40-yard dash time as being 4.45 seconds. But that was in high school, and if he can't offer an update he can offer this explanation: "Maybe I've gotten faster since 'Pit' has been working with me and my legs have gotten stronger . . . I don't know what my time is now, but I'm faster on the field. You never run straight away, like in a 40, on the field. I'm faster on the field than in my 40 time."
Ambrose agreed: "When you get on the field, he is rolling and faster than the other guy who's supposed to be the fastest. He's a football speed guy; that's just what he does. He gets to the ball and has some tenacity about what he does. That's what I love about him."
It's early, but at this point, what's not to love? Smith has the same affection for Boulder: "This place is beautiful."
The start of a beautiful relationship? Sure looks like it thus far.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
