| Smith making a bid for the NFL
Dorian Smith wasn’t invited to any of the collegiate postseason all-star games, but he figures he’ll make up for the lack of exposure with scouts at the NFL combine.
The Oregon State senior defensive end is considered one of the top players at his position in April’s draft, having been invited to the Feb. 20-26 combine in Indianapolis.
He’ll be tested there with the other top draft prospects in speed, strength and agility drills. It’s also a time to be looked at medically and mentally, before teams invest substantial money in players.
“I’m confident I can perform to the best of my abilities that my body will allow there,” Smith said. “I’ll do my best, and whatever happens there I won’t be disappointed.”
And about the postseason game snub?
“I am disappointed about that, but it is what it is,” Smith said. “There’s nothing I can do about it now. But it would have been nice to get one more game.”
Even without an all-star game, his stock is on the rise, according to those in the know.
Smith turned heads in his two seasons with OSU by moving well for a 6-foot-3, 260-pounder.
“He caught a lot of people’s attention in the last two years,” said someone familiar with NFL scouting who wanted to remain anonymous. “He’s a guy on the way up. There will be a team in the league who would like to have him in camp.”
Smith played in 25 games for the Beavers and had 15 quarterback sacks and 72 tackles.
He was a second-team All-American at College of the Desert in Southern California before coming to Corvallis.
Smith started out as a strong pass rusher, but developed into an all-around end last season, being able to stop the run. He’s ranked No. 35 of the available ends in the draft by NFL Draft Countdown.
Scouts are looking at him as an end or an inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense because of his 4.8-second speed in the 40-yard dash.
“I’d love to do that,” Smith said of being a linebacker. “It sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll do anything I can to play football. Getting to the NFL is my focus right now.”
Smith is already in Indianapolis at a training facility in preparation for the combine. He works out four-to-five hours a day, six days a week to improve his speed and strength.
Between workout sessions Smith is finishing up his business degree online. He needs two terms of full-time work, and he should graduate after the spring term.
Recruiting updates
Colin Kelly of Kelso, Wash., committed to the Beavers over the weekend, according to Scout.com. He’s a 6-foot-6, 260-pounder Scout lists as an offensive tackle. He was a first-team all-league tight end for Kelso High and played defensive end.
The Beavers have 10 verbal commitments and three midterm junior college transfers who already signed their letters of intent: running back Jeremy Francis, offensive lineman Brent McNeil - both from El Camino College near Los Angeles - and defensive tackle Stephen Paea from Snow College in Utah.
OSU lost two athletes who de-committed, with the latest being center Dominic Galas of Modesto, Calif. He committed to California. The other is linebacker Sule Osagiede of Rosenberg, Texas. He decided to play for Tulane.
Another game
Senior outside linebacker Derrick Doggett will play in the second annual Texas vs. The Nation all-star game at 2 p.m. Saturday in El Paso, Texas.
It’s a game that pits the top players from Texas or played collegiately in Texas against the top players from around the nation.
Doggett played well at the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 21 in his first game as a safety, so he received another game to show what he can do in the secondary for the NFL scouts.
Read more at the www.gazettetimes.com
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