COLUMBUS – Entering his senior season, Erick Smith is still battling to earn a starting spot on the Ohio State defense for the first time.
Smith has played in 33 career games, more than any other defensive back on Ohio State’s roster. He has flashed the potential to be a defensive playmaker throughout his career, perhaps most memorably in Ohio State’s 2015 spring game, when he recorded two interceptions. He has often been the next man up on the safety depth chart. But he still hasn’t started one game for the Buckeyes.
A four-star recruit out of Cleveland’s Glenville High School, Smith saw immediate playing time as a true freshman on defense and special teams for Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team.
Smith played in each of Ohio State’s first six games in 2015 as the Buckeyes’ primary backup safety. His sophomore season came to an abrupt end, however, when he suffered a torn ACL in the Buckeyes’ sixth game of the season against Maryland.
2016 was supposed to be Smith’s time to shine. Two-year starting safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell declared for the NFL draft after the 2015 season, opening the door for Smith to earn a starting spot. Smith missed spring practice due to his knee injury, however, which held him back as Malik Hooker and Damon Webb seized the starting safety spots. Smith played in all 13 of the Buckeyes’ games last season, but primarily on special teams and only sparingly on defense.
Smith now has only one season left to establish himself as a key player for the Ohio State defense.
Erick Smith has been on the field since Ohio State's 2014 national championship season, but mostly on special teams.
Hooker left for the NFL after only one season as a starter, opening up the starting safety spot next to Webb. As the elder statesman among the players competing for that spot, Smith should be the favorite to win that battle. But Smith still has to prove to his coaches, particularly to defensive coordinator and safeties coach Greg Schiano, that he deserves the starting job.
Smith’s primary competition for that starting spot is sophomore Jordan Fuller, a four-star recruit from the class of 2016. Four-star freshman Isaiah Pryor could also become a factor in the competition after becoming just the second member of the 2017 class to lose his black stripe this year.
Asked on Saturday whether there was a leader in that competition, Schiano gave no indication that Smith had separated himself from the pack. He did say, though, that he is pleased with the way Smith is competing.
"It’s really going well," Schiano said of the safety competition. "That’s going to be exciting to watch how all that kind of sorts out. We continue to evaluate everything … at the end of the day, it really comes down to who steps on that field first is the one we think that can give you the best chance to win."
Even though he hasn’t yet earned regular playing time on defense, Smith believes he has gotten better throughout his Ohio State career. Chris Ash, Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for Smith’s first two seasons as a Buckeye, taught Smith how to focus on details. It hasn’t been hard to adjust to Schiano’s defense, Smith said, because of how Schiano simplifies the defense for his players.
Coming out of Glenville High School, Smith had a reputation for being a big hitter.
"I ain’t lost that," Smith replied when reminded of his hard-hitting reputation.
Webb described Smith as "very, very physical," and believes that could be an asset to this year’s Buckeyes defense.
"He’s a great tackler," Webb said. "That’s what Erick brings to the table. Get the guy on the ground."
With that being said, Smith doesn’t just want to be known for his hitting ability, as he considers himself to be a disciplined and assignment-sound player.
"I might make the crowd go 'Ooh, ahh,' but behind that, I try to stay sound in my technique," Smith said. "I’m not really trying to go out of my way to make a play. I’m just trying to do my job."
Looking back on his injury, Smith acknowledges there was a brief moment in time where he had doubts about whether he would be able to play football at a high level again. That concern passed in less than a week because of his confidence in Ohio State’s athletic training staff. But the injury did make Smith reset his thought process for the rest of his career.
"There was a moment where I just had to reflect on everything, and just kind of go back to my foundation and why I even started to play football," Smith said. "And after looking at my foundation and going and setting my vision, I had to just keep going forward, keep going forward. Remember why you started to play football."
“I might make the crowd go ‘Ooh, ahh,’ but behind that, I try to stay sound in my technique.”– Erick Smith
With all that he has gone through in his first three seasons at Ohio State, Smith wants to be a starter, and he believes he’s ready. But he says he’s been enjoying the competition with Fuller and expects to play regularly regardless of who wins the battle.
"Jordan is a really talented player," Smith said. "We’ve all been rotating in and out, so we have three starters basically, three or four starters. We’re playing a lot of people."
