Smith-Williams Angling For Draft Success
Depending on which draft projection you prefer, James Smith-Williams could be taken anwhere from the fifth round of this week's NFL draft to not being drafted at all.
Either way, it's going to be a long wait before the NC State defensive end finds out when or if his name gets called on Day Three. So instead of sitting around the house nervously watching the draft unfold on television, Smith-Williams has a diversionary plan to help keep his mind occupied on Saturday.
“I’m going to go fishing,” he said in a Zoom interview with SI All Wolfpack. “I’m not planning to be around anybody. I’ll have my phone turned up full volume and any phone call I get, I’ll go crazy. But I’m not going to sit there and watch the whole draft.”
Smith-Williams and defensive tackle Larrell Murchison are the most likely Wolfpack players to be selected in this year's draft, which begins with the first round on Thursday and will be held virtually rather than in Las Vegas, as previously scheduled, because of the coronavirus crisis.
Should they both be selected, it would continue a recent State tradition of sending defensive linemen into the NFL.
Casting a line on draft day is also something of a Wolfpack tradition.
Ten years ago, another State defensive lineman -- Willie Young -- also reportedly went fishing as he waited for the Detroit Lions to take him in the seventh round of the 2010 draft.
Young, who went on to enjoy eight productive seasons in the NFL, reached out to Smith-Williams recently to give him encouragement. And perhaps share a few angling tips.
"I've actually had a chance to meet Willie Young," Smith-Williams said. "We had dinner awhile ago. "He's an avid fisherman."
Young is only one of several former Wolfpack defensive linemen that have been in contact with Smith-Williams to help him negotiate his way through the pre-draft process.
By far the most helpful has been his former teammate and neighbor Murchison.
“I talk to James often," he said. "Everything he does, he’ll say ‘Hey Larrell, this happened to me’ and I’ll say “well, this happened to me.” So we’re talking every other day about our experience and what we’re doing. We’re on the same track right now, just communicating with each other."
Murchison is projected to be taken a few rounds earlier than Smith-Williams after a standout senior season in which he ranked among the ACC leaders in sacks despite playing mostly inside on the Wolfpack's 3-man front.
Smith-Williams, on the other hand, saw his draft stock drop because of an injury-plagued 2019 that saw him miss five games because of injuries.
While his durability is still a question, one he'll only be able to answer once the season begins, the former Wolfpack captain helped himself with strong showings at both the East-West Shrine Game in January and the NFL's Scouting Combine a month later -- at which he ran a blistering 4.61 40-yard dash.
Smith-Williams said he has had contact with virtually every NFL team since the Combine and is confident that he'll be selected by one of them.
He said it doesn't matter where or when he's drafted, as long as he gets the chance to show what he can do and make a roster. At this point, all he can do is cast his line wait for someone to make him the catch of the day.
"I think Day Three is the honest account of where I'll go, but I’m excited just to go whenever,” he said. “It’s a childhood dream regardless of what round it is.”
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