2029 Australian OL Talby Smith talks Syracuse offer: 'It means everything to me'

Smith, who plays for NFL Academy, earned a Syracuse offer after attending Franchise Camp.

Talby Smith | Courtesy: Talby Smith

2029 offensive lineman Talby Smith has been an athlete his whole life.

Originally from Orange, New South Wales in Australia, the 6-foot-6, 292-pound prospect was a nationally ranked rugby player in Australia, and also played cricket.

His life would change forever when the NFL Academy, which has a campus in the Gold Coast, approached him bout playing American football.

“I took it in my stride and gave it my all,” Smith said to The Juice Online.

Smith has emerged as a top international prospect

That effort has led to incredibly impressive results.

Smith has emerged as an elite prospect in his class, and as a rising sophomore already holds offers from schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Texas Tech, UTSA, UTEP, and SMU.

His summer travels also brought him to Central New York, where he earned an offer from the Orange.

“The offer means everything to me,” Smith said. “Especially (with the) coaching staff believing in me and my development."

Smith recevied his offer from Caporale

After his performance in Franchise Camp in June, the Orange extended him an offer, which came from general manager Tommy Caporale.

“He was an amazing guy,” Smith said. “(He was) speaking on family and being genuinely interested in stuff other than ball.”

The two spoke about how Syracuse has had a long history with international athletes.

The Orange has had a long history of developing players from abroad, including Maximilian Mang, a tight end from Germany who graduated from SU in 2024. 

Another athlete, Max Von Marburg, originally from Wagga, Australia, played two seasons with the Orange from 2022-23.

So a natural topic for Caporale and Smith was how he became involved in American football.

"Being an international recruit is definitely hard,” Smith said. “Not having what other kids from the States have, but we got to work three times harder, which I love. I love being an underdog.”

Smith puts SU among his top schools

Aside from that, Smith got to tour the facilities, see the SU campus and interact with the players.

"Syracuse was an amazing campus with some state of the art facilities,” Smith said.

Smith listed the Orange among six schools standing out.

“Top schools now are Syracuse, Texas Tech, ASU, Cal, Arizona, and SMU.”

Smith says is a big body with fast feet and good hands.

“I love to protect the width of the pocket for my QB,” Smith said. “(I also love) getting down field to block people to protect my brothers."

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