'14 KS OL Braden Smith (Auburn Signee)

[Wild Bill]

Wouldn't you say short arms are even more of a detriment on the OL though? There have been plenty of rush DEs with short arms that have been great... not sure about interior DL, but I would guess it'd be even less of a detriment there.

IMO, it's more important from the defender. A defensive lineman wants to avoid contact with the offensive lineman. Long arms shield him from contact. Like you said, you can be great without long arms by utilizing other skills, i.e., outside speed rush, bull rush, swim move or club (think reggie white), but long arms makes most of these techniques much easier to perform. Long arms also takes away passing lanes.

O-lineman prefer playing in tight spaces and getting into the defenders body, especially on run plays. On passing plays, interior lineman very rarely get full extension of their arms to block out the pass rusher and usually get in the body. Arm length is important for tackles on five and seven step pass drops when they are blocking outside speed rushers. IMO, you can get by having short arms as a tackle if you can get in your drop fast, have great feet and time your punch perfectly. Even if a longer arm defensive end gets a hold of your shoulder pad on a pass drop, you can use your feet to get between him and the QB while simultaneously getting closer to his body. Once you're at the perfect distance, unload your hands in his chest and the pass rush slows down. Anthony Munoz did this better than anyone.

 

[dwshade]

I think him and Montelus would make some nasty road graders

I'd rather pair Montellus with Elmer or Nelson.

 

[NDPhilly]

IMO should be a OG. Reminds me of Evan Mathis in his build.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I think him and Montelus would make some nasty road graders

Yep. If Smith hops on board then make Mustipher a DT.

 

[Ricochet]

I'm with dwshade, I see a out and out OG.

It's amazing how stiff he is for how athletic he is.

Don't get me wrong he's a very good prospect but he's more weight room strong and athletic than football strong and athletic at this point. He's going to kill it a combines with the measurables but in games he apparently doesn't dominate to the level that he should with the tools he has.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

IMO, it's more important from the defender. A defensive lineman wants to avoid contact with the offensive lineman. Long arms shield him from contact. Like you said, you can be great without long arms by utilizing other skills, i.e., outside speed rush, bull rush, swim move or club (think reggie white), but long arms makes most of these techniques much easier to perform. Long arms also takes away passing lanes.

O-lineman prefer playing in tight spaces and getting into the defenders body, especially on run plays. On passing plays, interior lineman very rarely get full extension of their arms to block out the pass rusher and usually get in the body. Arm length is important for tackles on five and seven step pass drops when they are blocking outside speed rushers. IMO, you can get by having short arms as a tackle if you can get in your drop fast, have great feet and time your punch perfectly. Even if a longer arm defensive end gets a hold of your shoulder pad on a pass drop, you can use your feet to get between him and the QB while simultaneously getting closer to his body. Once you're at the perfect distance, unload your hands in his chest and the pass rush slows down. Anthony Munoz did this better than anyone.

IMO long arms are much more important for a two-gapper than a one-gapper. A two gapper needs the extension to push back an OT, diagnose the play, and be able to grab and take down opposing RB's/QB's. For a 1-gapper that's just going to shoot the gap, long arms are less important. This is why Tuitt is a prototypical 5-technique, while Day is more likely a 3-technique in the NFL (and why it's so special that he can still be a 5-technique at 6'2").

Braden doesn't even look or move like an offensive lineman. He could probably play TE (if he had the hands) or OLB if he wanted to. Something of a freak specimen.

 

[Wild Bill]

IMO long arms are much more important for a two-gapper than a one-gapper. A two gapper needs the extension to push back an OT, diagnose the play, and be able to grab and take down opposing RB's/QB's. For a 1-gapper that's just going to shoot the gap, long arms are less important. This is why Tuitt is a prototypical 5-technique, while Day is more likely a 3-technique in the NFL (and why it's so special that he can still be a 5-technique at 6'2").

Braden doesn't even look or move like an offensive lineman. He could probably play TE (if he had the hands) or OLB if he wanted to. Something of a freak specimen.

Agree with the bold.

Tough to predict how the big guys will develop after high school. I think he'll be an offensive tackle. Reminds me a little of Nate Solder.

 

[ResLife Hero]

Agree with the bold.

Tough to predict how the big guys will develop after high school. I think he'll be an offensive tackle. Reminds me a little of Nate Solder.

That seems like a bit of a stretch to me. He has average-at-best bend and short arms which means he will struggle punching and getting leverage on rushing ends. Solder possessed rare length, was lighter out of high school and was also faster out of college. I could see him being an elite OG or DT though.

NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Nate Solder

 

[Wild Bill]

That seems like a bit of a stretch to me. He has average-at-best bend and short arms which means he will struggle punching and getting leverage on rushing ends. Solder possessed rare length, was lighter out of high school and was also faster out of college. I could see him being an elite OG or DT though.

NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Nate Solder

Reminds me of him only with respect to being a leaner offensive lineman that will have to rely on athleticism and technique. I can't see his "bend" on the highlight vid. He looks like an athlete in space, though.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

IMO long arms are much more important for a two-gapper than a one-gapper. A two gapper needs the extension to push back an OT, diagnose the play, and be able to grab and take down opposing RB's/QB's. For a 1-gapper that's just going to shoot the gap, long arms are less important. This is why Tuitt is a prototypical 5-technique, while Day is more likely a 3-technique in the NFL (and why it's so special that he can still be a 5-technique at 6'2").

Braden doesn't even look or move like an offensive lineman. He could probably play TE (if he had the hands) or OLB if he wanted to. Something of a freak specimen.

You realize that Day has the longest arms ever for a man that is 6'2"? If someone told me his arms were as long as Stephon's, I wouldn't be surprised.

So the general truism is offense or defense, long arms are more important on the outside and less important in the middle?

 

[drake29]

Where is everyone getting that he has short arms? Any pictures I've ever seen and his arms hang down mid-thigh. At 6-6 those are some long arms.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Where is everyone getting that he has short arms? Any pictures I've ever seen and his arms hang down mid-thigh. At 6-6 those are some long arms.

Several "recruiting experts" from some of the recruiting sites have mentioned the "short arms". I think most of us are simply relying on that statement.

 

[PANDFAN]

The offensive line prospect everyone in attendance was waiting to see was Braden Smith (Braden Smith) (Olathe, Kan./South). Well Smith checked just as expected at 6-foot-6 ¼ and 285-pounds. The uber-flexible Smith tested pretty well too clocking a 5.12 40, 4.65 pro-agility shuttle and 35 1/2 –inch vertical. Smith, who has shorter arms than ideally are desired at tackle, threw up a combine best 39 reps of 185-pounds on the bench press. In one-on-one’s, Smith struggled a bit in space on the edge. Whether he plays guard, which is where we project him, or tackle, he will be flat back road-grater in the run game with the ability to pull. Smith has verbal offers from nearly every top program in the country.


Link: Under Armour All-America Combine Report

 

[fitz_bu47]

Academics are important. Smart, disciplined kid who does things the "right" way....but is also the type of kid who will get a good education wherever he goes, so I don't know if academics give ND a HUGE boost, but will help some I think.

 

[CurtisCandy]

My brother is on staff at his high school. Very serious, good kid, that hasn't done much w/ recruiting b/c has been focusing on high school season. Legitimate freak. Has been finally starting to put on some more weight this year, the first time I saw him-his soph. year, he looked like somebody built him on a video game. Huge broad shoulders, big arms and legs, tiny waist.

He played tackle on offense for South, and nose on D. Teams pretty much had to double/triple him and run away from him, and he pretty routinely destroys whoever he is blocking. Pretty good competition, biggest class in Kansas, lots of D-2 kids, and quite a few D-1 from area.

From everything my brother has heard, he thinks he will end up at TCU w/ his sister, but he always said he thought A&M and ND had a shot too....Braden just doesn't talk about it much. Definitely the type of kid I would love to land, whether it ended up being ol or dl, but 3-4 D-End just looks obvious as a fit to me. Great motor, relentless which is nice for a big ugly obviously.

The latest rumor about him that my brother shared, (I can't believe that this is true, but the students are saying it) supposedly Bama wanted him to play Right tackle, and he said no thanks, I am a left tackle....That response doesn't really fit the personality things I hear about him but, who knows.

I will try and let you guys know if I hear anything else.

Thanks for the info! After reading about his motor and his apparently great attitude, he just moved way up on my personal "Do Want" list!

 

[CraigKrenzel]

Academics are important. Smart, disciplined kid who does things the "right" way....but is also the type of kid who will get a good education wherever he goes, so I don't know if academics give ND a HUGE boost, but will help some I think.

Off-topic, I used to think this way ("he's smart, he'll get a degree wherever he goes") but the true value I believe ND provides over many schools is not necessarily the challenges and opportunities while IN school, it's the doors that will open once he's out of school.

Dat alumni base. It's not what you know it's who you know, etc., etc.

As you say, he's a smart kid, so hopefully he'll understand this. I know I didn't when I was 17.

 

[Emcee77]

Off-topic, I used to think this way ("he's smart, he'll get a degree wherever he goes") but the true value I believe ND provides over many schools is not necessarily the challenges and opportunities while IN school, it's the doors that will open once he's out of school.

Dat alumni base. It's not what you know it's who you know, etc., etc.

As you say, he's a smart kid, so hopefully he'll understand this. I know I didn't when I was 17.

Yeah, this. I am almost 10 years out of school now, and I can tell you first-hand that the alumni network ... they aren't kidding about that. It pays dividends. Other people I work with have to work so hard to build a professional network; when you graduate from ND, it's readymade.

 

[Cpnd1]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a> related update on touted OL Braden Smith: <a href="http://t.co/4PzEIHs5ib">http://t.co/4PzEIHs5ib</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/247Sports">@247Sports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ND&src=hash">#ND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Irish&src=hash">#Irish</a></p>— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) <a href="https://twitter.com/SWiltfong247/statuses/407674521764646912">December 3, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Emcee77]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NotreDame&src=hash">#NotreDame</a> related update on touted OL Braden Smith: <a href="http://t.co/4PzEIHs5ib">http://t.co/4PzEIHs5ib</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/247Sports">@247Sports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ND&src=hash">#ND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Irish&src=hash">#Irish</a></p>— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) <a href="https://twitter.com/SWiltfong247/statuses/407674521764646912">December 3, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

ND will visit Braden on Thursday.

We are in top 3 with TCU and TAMU. Steve could see us making a serious run here but isn't making any predictions yet.

If Bama were to get serious about him, he'd be Bama's to lose.

 

[GBdomer]

IMO he would be our top guard if he came.

 

[NDPhilly]

I like Quenton Nelson better as a Guard but I agree that Braden Smith is a top 75 player.

 

[TheChosen1]

Still think he ends up at A&M

 

[Buster Bluth]

IMO he would be our top guard if he came.

Would Mustipher slide to defense?

 

[Irish Man3]

Would Mustipher slide to defense?

I absolutely think so.

 

[dwshade]

Mustipher says his future is on the OL.

 

[Calabrese's People]

Id rather have Mustipher on the O-Line and Braden playing D.

 

[koonja]

Id rather have Mustipher on the O-Line and Braden playing D.

This is what I'm thinking. Braden is very athletic for his size.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

OV Jan 17th per Wiltfong

 

[TheChosen1]

TCU Feb 1

 

[rtrn2glory]

gotta make a big impression before he heads to TCU