Former North Carolina standout Andre Smith told anyone he ran into at the NFL scouting combine that he would have been one of the top linebackers in the draft if he’d played his entire junior season.
Smith didn’t say whether these conversations took place before or after he popped his hamstring running the 40 in Indianapolis. Not that it matters much — Smith’s confidence hasn’t wavered despite the injuries he’s endured the past two years.
“If I’d played the whole season — especially the way the first two games went — I think I’d be a — top-three-round pick,” Smith said in a telephone interview Monday.