Cam Smith, CB South Carolina: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Smith was a four-star recruit from Westwood High School in Blythewood, S.C. in the class of 2019

South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith was a consensus first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft over the summer. He’s fallen down draft boards but still has a chance at hearing his name called in the top 31 selections.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Cam Smith, CB South Carolina: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior outside cornerback from Blythewood, S.C.

Background: Smith was a four-star recruit from Westwood High School in Blythewood, S.C. in the class of 2019. He played three seasons for Meade High School in Fort Meade, Md. before joining Westwood. Smith was the No. 150 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 191 for Rivals, and No. 145 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 296th in the nation with an 80 grade out of 100. As a high school senior, Smith amassed 65 tackles, including four for loss, 16 passes defensed, and four forced fumbles. He was selected for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and the All-American Bowl. Smith was born on Dec. 21, 2000.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed two games in 2020 with a leg injury, missed two games in 2021, exited Troy (2021) game with a head injury, missed Georgia (2022) game with a concussion

Awards: 2021 Second-Team All-SEC (Associated Press), 2021 Honorable Mention All-American (PFF)

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, gained exposure to the slot in 2022, loose lower body and overall fluid athlete, quick feet, impressive acceleration, patient when wide receiver is executing his release, applies soft-shoe press, aggressive in press coverage, gets in phase early on vertical routes and never leaves, smooth transition from off-man to accepting and mirroring the receiver, compresses outside releases along the sideline, strong feel for developing routes and where they’re headed, attempts to bait quarterbacks and looks to jump routes, quick to read and trigger on short routes, recognizes pick and rub routes, speed prevents him from getting stacked, infrequently threatened vertically, mixes it up with the receiver mid-route, ball skills, impact at the catch point, looked more determined to shed tackles and stop the run in 2021

Cons: Potential history of concussions, committed four penalties in 2021 and ten in 2022, one season of high-level ball production, very thin and lean frame, footwork in transitions needs refinement, bites on double moves, can be overaggressive looking to jump routes, hand fighting downfield will draw flags, gets caught ball watching in zone and loses receivers behind him, dives low for tackles instead of driving through them, driven off the line by tight ends, doesn’t separate from wide receiver blocks consistently, content to sit on blocks at times, will join gang tackles but not overly eager to stick his nose in against the run, takes poor pursuit angles and runs himself out of plays, offers upside as a blitzer but flies in with no control

Overview: Smith took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6006 and weighs 180 lbs. He has 9 1/8-inch hands, 31 5/8-inch arms, and a 76 1/8-inch wingspan. Smith played to the field and boundary at South Carolina. He also gained some experience operating in the slot. The former four-star recruit played a diverse special teams role on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He’s a very loose and fluid athlete with quick feet, impressive acceleration, and quality top speed to avoid being stacked or threatened vertically. Smith is patient early in the play when the wide receiver executes his release. He’ll play in soft-shoe press or true press. The South Carolina native is an aggressive defender who lands impactful blows in press and gets physical with receivers mid-route. He erases outside releases by compressing them along the sideline. Smith gets in phase early on vertical routes and never leaves. He also has a smooth transition from off-man coverage into phase to mirror receivers. The redshirt junior displays a strong understanding of developing concepts, anticipating and cutting off potential receiving options. He attempts to bait quarterbacks and looks to jump routes. Smith is quick to read and trigger on short routes. The Westwood High School product has excellent ball skills and is fantastic at the catch point. He’s capable of making tackles in key moments but doesn’t seem to apply that drive across the whole game. He looked more determined to shed tackles and stop the run in 2021 than in 2022. Smith appeared content to sit on blocks this past season and struggled to create separation from wide receiver blocks. He wasn’t eager to contribute in run defense. Those skills are in his arsenal, he just needs to put the effort in more often. Smith comes with a history of concussions that could worry some teams. His aggressiveness sometimes backfires. He drew four penalties in 2021 and ten in 2022 and bites on double moves. Smith’s downfield hand fighting will draw flags at the next level. Despite his ball skills, Smith only had one season of high-level ball production. He has a very thin and lean frame that limits his play strength and impact against larger receivers. The former AP All-SEC corner needs to address his footwork in transitions. Smith sometimes gets caught ball watching in zone and loses sight of his assignment. He dives low for tackles instead of driving through the ball carrier and runs himself out of plays by taking poor pursuit angles. 

Overall, Smith has the athletic traits and in-game mentality to be a shutdown corner at the NFL level. His lean build and aggressiveness will lead to negative plays early in his career, but if Smith is dedicated to becoming the best version of himself, he could emerge as an alpha by the midway point of his rookie contract.

Role & Scheme Fit: Scheme transcendent boundary corner

Round Projection: Late First to Early Second

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-09-23