Smith learns fast on field
By Steve Behr

sports@wataugademocrat.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore has never been afraid to put a freshman in the starting lineup.

His most famous move was to make quarterback Armanti Edwards a starter last season. Edwards went on to lead the Mountaineers to their second Division I-AA/FCS national championship.

It remains to be seen if freshman linebacker D.J. Smith can do the same for the Mountaineers. But Moore likes what he sees from Smith, an Independence High graduate and a true freshman.

“He’s playing well,” Moore said. “He came in here in really good shape and worked hard behind Cam (Speer) and began to assert himself.”

Smith, who was part of an Independence program that went 60-0 with four state championships in his four years at the school, is no stranger to winning. His first loss since middle school was the Mountaineers’ 42-31 setback to Wofford on Sept. 21.

Appalachian State also did not win during his first college start, a 38-35 loss to Georgia Southern three games ago.

“He’s big and fast,” Moore said. “Look at his high school program. His first two losses were to Georgia Southern and Wofford. He comes from a great program. The kids there are well coached.”

In the Mountaineers’ 45-24 win over The Citadel Saturday, Smith made his mark by returning an interception 23 yards for a touchdown. Smith was in the right flat and Citadel quarterback Bart Blanchard, a freshman making his first start, hit Smith right in the hands.

“The guys have been getting on me a lot,” Smith said. “In the past, I’ve been knocking down balls I’ve been able to catch. In practice I’ve been practicing on the Juggs machine catching about 100 balls a day in a game situation.”

“He can catch,” Moore said. “He’s a really good athlete and he could play anywhere.”

Smith gave credit to linebackers coach Dale Jones and defensive coordinator John Wiley for making sure he was prepared to play. Smith finished with 16 tackles — 13 solo — including a half of a sack and one and a half tackles resulting in 15 yards in losses.

“I felt pretty good today,” Smith said. “I was very well prepared. Coach Jones prepared us well for the week. I felt good about today’s game.”

Appalachian State held a commanding 31-7 lead before the Bulldogs drove 80 yards in 11 plays, the final being a 1-yard run by Terrence Reese, a 295-pound nose tackle playing fullback at the time.

It was 31-14 at halftime before the Bulldogs scored 10 points in the third quarter to pull to 31-24.

Appalachian State got two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Smith said The Citadel made some adjustments when it got behind, but added the Mountaineers’ staff countered with some of their own.

“They shifted up their blocking scheme a bit,” Smith said of the Bulldogs. “The coaches just said for us to keep our composure and don’t let it get too much out of hand and get it done.

“They changed their blocking schemes, but Coach Wiley made the adjustments and took care of it.”

Smith also said it didn’t hurt to have Appalachian State’s offense pile up 587 total yards. Quarterback Armanti Edwards set a school record by rushing for 291 yards in one game.

“That’s a big help, a big help,” Smith said. “Knowing that basically, your best defense is your offense. If you’ve got an offense that can gain over 500 yards every game, your best defense is your offense. It takes pressure off of us knowing we’ve got an offense like that.”

Blanchard, the quarterback Smith victimized with an interception, got better as the game went along, according to the linebacker.

“I think he played a little bit better,” Smith said. “We had to keep pressuring him. We had to get on and get in his face and don’t give him enough time to throw.”