2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Cam Smith

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Cam Smith, 6-0/188 Cornerback South Carolina

Cam Smith Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Excellent press man

Good length; long arms

Very good ball reaction

Strong finisher

Instinctive

Able to battle big receivers

Doesn’t panic when the ball is thrown at him

Very good ball skills

Impressive hands

Plays the ball

Good tackler

Willing run defender

Supports run defense

Weaknesses:

Grabs a lot

Could get lots of penalties

Lacks twitch

Lacks short-area quickness

Lacks explosion

Summary: Under former head coach Will Muschamp, South Carolina recruited and developed the cornerback position really well, and Smith will carry on the program’s recent tradition of a good cornerback prospects for the next level. With Jaycee Horn in the NFL in 2021, Smith took over as the No. 1 corner for the Gamecocks and broke out with 41 tackles, three interceptions and 11 passes broken up. Smith then played really well in 2022, recording 27 tackles, an interception and five pass breakups.

For the NFL, Smith is a press-man corner who can play on the outside and line up against big receivers. Smith has very good ball skills, enough height and length, plus he tackles well. He is a gritty defender who uses instincts to be around the ball and can be very disruptive – see the 2022 Tennessee game. Smith tracks the ball well and shows a nice ability to play the football. While Smith lacks twitch and explosion, he has long arms and is a perfect fit for press-man corner.



The big issue with Smith has is that he grabs too much, and until he fixes the problem, he could be flagged often in the NFL. There is no doubt that Smith should be protected from playing zone as a pro. He lacks the twitch and short-area burst that are necessary to be a good zone cornerback.

Infinitely more important than my opinion, or anybody else in the media, is the opinion of team evaluators. Here is how one area scout summarized Smith, “He’s a good player but lacks twitch and explosion. He grabs too much. He’s a man corner; the lack of twitch makes him a bad fit in zone. He’s really good in press man. His instincts and ball skills are pretty good.”

Smith might sneak into the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but he probably won’t go lower than Round 2.



Player Comparison: A.J. Bouye. Smith is reminiscent of Bouye. Both have toughness, instincts, good size, and a gritty style of play. Bouye (6-0, 191) had issues with grabbing too much, but once Smith improved on that weakness, he became a very good starter for a few seasons.

2023 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2023 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE, Northwestern Jordan Addison, WR, USC Will Anderson, DE, Alabama Felix Anudike-Uzomah, DE, Kansas State Steve Avila, G, TCU Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland Micah Baskerville, LB, LSU Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse Mekhi Blackmon, CB, USC Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU Brian Branch, S, Alabama Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson Chase Brown, RB, Illinois Sydney Brown, S, Illinois Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisvile Gervon Dexter, DT, Florida Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina Max Duggan, QB, TCU Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Notre Dame Isaiah Foskey, DE, Notre Dame Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon Derick Hall, OLB, Auburn Jaren Hall, QB, BYU Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M Paris Johnson, OT, Ohio State Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU Broderick Jones, G, Georgia Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa Will Levis, QB, Kentucky Quan Martin, CB, Illinois Cody Mauch, G, North Dakota State Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame Will McDonald, DE, Iowa State Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia Tanner McKee, QB, Stanford Kendre Miller, RB, TCU Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss Cam Mitchell, CB, Northwestern Malachi Moore, S, Alabama Mike Morris, DE, Michigan Wanya Morris, OT, Oklahoma Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State Zion Nelson, OT, Miami B.J. Ojulari, OLB, LSU Demarvion Overshown, LB, Texas Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn Jarrett Patterson, C, Notre Dame Clark Phillips, CB, Utah Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas Chris Rodriguez, RB, Kentucky Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan Nolan Smith, DE, Georgia Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota Tyler Steen, OT, Alabama Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee Joe Tippman, C, Wisconsin O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida Henry To'oTo'o, LB, Alabama Tuli Tuipulotu, DE, USC D.J. Turner, CB, Michigan Lukas Van Ness, DE, Iowa Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee Bryce Young, QB, Alabama

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