Kentucky defensive end Za'Darius Smith has A) an amazing first name and B) a mouth that is getting him noticed by reporters, especially in the buildup to the 'Cats upcoming game against Florida. Via Kentucky Sports Radio, here are some comments by Smith about the Florida roster that are... controversial? Maybe? Well, just read:
Kentucky player: Florida looks ‘smaller’ than ... Louisville, WKU?
Kentucky DE Za’Darius Smith says Florida’s offense isn’t very big. He is kind of right.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Za’Darius is geeking over his first SEC game. The caliber of a program like Florida might intimidate most, but this is Za’Darius, “It’s an OK team, I’m not just going to say (that) they’re all that. Hey, it’s the SEC.” When asked if they looked bigger/faster/stronger on tape than he expected, he said, “No they didn’t, they actually looked smaller than people we already played.”
Smith is right: Florida's line isn't that big, aside from 6'8, 363-pound behemoth Trenton Brown at right tackle. Even with Brown factored in, though, Louisville's line is substantially bigger as a whole; the Cardinals average 322 pounds across the board while Florida's starting five are only ("only") 313 pounds on on average. So while it might come across as smack talk at first, Smith's just stating an empirical fact.
Also, WKU’s line is roughly 304 pounds on average. Presumably Smith meant Louisville was the “people we already played,” because otherwise he’s just not getting things right.
Moreover, here’s where we remind you that size only matters so much with linemen; the Denver Broncos’ line during the Terrell Davis era was the smallest in the NFL and had nobody over 300 pounds, for example. It’s safe to assume Smith knows that because virtually any defensive lineman knows that his opposing lineman’s weight is only one factor out of several in how good he is. How skilled is his footwork? How’s his conditioning? Is it good weight or bad weight? Are his reads good or can you sneak a blitzer past him? Heck, even the size is in and of itself not a reliable indicator; some guys carry weight well, and some ... do not.
But hey, this’ll probably get construed as smack talk by someone at Florida somehow so ... mission accomplished? For someone?
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