Signing Day celebrates the four- and five-star idols of the recruiting season. And then comes Saturdays in autumn, when the common two- and three-star prospects become big-time players, especially in the Mountain West.
Yes, recruiting glory escaped Wyoming sophomore quarterback Brett Smith, despite being the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. All that got him was some interest from a couple of WAC teams and lower-division programs — as well as a scholarship offer from Wyoming.
Pretty smart move by the Cowboys.
At Wyoming, Smith immediately made a mockery of his two-star status. He took the first snap of the season as a true freshman and
recorded three straight wins.
“I was able to win a few accolades my senior year,” Smith said. “I wasn’t heavily recruited at all. I wish I knew why. I believe through my faith that I’m supposed to be here.”
San Jose State and New Mexico State were other schools that showed interest.
“I was told (by other schools) I was not big enough, fast enough, I didn’t have a strong enough arm, my motion was weird,” he said.
Smith’s form was good enough to produce 3,332 yards of total offense, second in the Mountain West and 33rd nationally. He was the conference Freshman of the Year.
He underwent unspecified surgery on his arm after the season and spent the spring relearning his throwing motion.
“He’s coming off a banner freshman year, but there’s plenty of room for improvement,” said Wyoming coach Dave Christensen. “I look for Brett to continue to get better. He’s an extremely competitive young man.”
The abrupt transfer of two-year starter Austyn Carta-Samuels the week Smith enrolled in January 2011 set up Smith for immediate playing time.
“We went into spring and didn’t have a quarterback who had taken a D-I snap,” said Christensen. “We put him in the fire and Brett reacted in the most positive way.”
Coming off a 3-0 start, the freshman thought he could take on then-No. 9 Nebraska.
“From an actual game standpoint, I was able to experience a whole new level of speed,” he said. “I think I was able to gain a ton from that game. We lost (38-14), but we had some great things happen, too. So I was able to experience success against a team like that, as well as adversity.”
The recruiting saga worked out just fine.
“I knew I could play at this level,” he said.