'I Don't Even Like Football!' Cowboys Rookie Mazi Smith's 'Violent' Reveal
What are the Dallas Cowboys getting in rookie nose tackle Mazi Smith? Some are already making the lofty comparison to Ndamukong Suh. And while player comparisons are fun for "talking season," Smith has already told the Cowboys what to expect ... violence.
“I don’t do no talking," Smith recently said. "Nah, I’m trying to hit you. I don’t got nothing to say. I don’t even like football. I like hitting people.”
Our own Mike Fisher says, "Straight dope, no bullshhh," and that might be the perfect way to describe the mentality Smith will bring to the interior of the Cowboys' defensive line.
It goes without saying that at 6-foot-3, 323 pounds, the Cowboys don't want a giant teddy bear. Instead, they want a violent "freak" who will "strike and destroy" blocks.
The Cowboys certainly liked what they saw from Smith when he was coming out of Michigan. No, a nose tackle isn't the most "sexy" pick the Cowboys could've made, but it was a needed one. Stopping the interior run had been a problem for the Dallas defense in years past, and largely it came down to not having that run-plugging presence in the middle.
The role for Smith in Year 1, as Jonathan Hankins provided a blueprint for last season, will be to help absorb double-teams against the run, allowing the inside linebackers behind him to flow freely downhill to the football.
Smith did that as a Wolverine and will look to continue doing that at the next level. ... but Dallas expects him to do more. He can be a pass-rusher, too, in the Cowboys vision. He can be a force. And an intimidator.
Mazi Smith might not "like football.'' But so far in Cowboys camp? Football seems to like him.
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