The long awaited debut of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith is finally here. This Saturday, the Cowboys will take on the Indianapolis Colts and Jaylon Smith won’t just be wearing a jersey to fit in. I may be biased being a hardcore Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan, but I remember watching Smith during his sting with the Irish. I also remember watching him go down at the Fiesta Bowl when his Irish were taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes, who at the time featured Cowboys’ star running back, Ezekiel Elliott. Smith was projected as a top 5 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and then he went down. 

 

 

Fast forward to the NFL Draft, and it was clear that Smith would have to wait a while until his name would be called. Many had him pegged in the middle rounds, just based on the severity of his injury and the fact that it could take a long time for that nerve to regenerate. Enter Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys team physician was the one who performed the surgery on Jaylon Smith’s knee, so they had some inside information as to what to expect in terms of a full recovery time frame. The Cowboys had already stolen headlines earlier that night when they took Ezekiel Elliott with their fourth pick. The Cowboys, with the 34th pick, shocked everyone when they picked Smith. They knew that he would have to most likely sit out the his first season, but they felt he could be a steal if they could get him anywhere near the level of play he exhibited prior to the injury.

“I’m excited,” Jones said. “Very excited. Excited about his progress this camp.”

It’s been a long process, but Smith has maintained his motto of “Clear Eye View”. According to Smith, it stands for focused vision, determined belief, and earned dreams.  It’s clear that he has used this throughout his recovery, and even throughout his life. Back in May, Smith explained a little more about the motto to Sports Day DFW’s David Moore: 

“It’s something I’ve been living by for a few years now. A focused vision is setting out something that you have to be able to see it clear..A determined belief, you have to believe in yourself, you have to have self-belief, belief in God that you can accomplish what he wants you to accomplish…And then earned dreams is how bad do you want it, putting that work in.” 

It’s also important to tempter expectations in regards to his recovery process. He still wears a custom-made brace in practice, but he has seen improvement as camp has continued on. The most recent example of that was on Monday when Smith sacked Kellen Moore, and finished it with his trademark celebration: 

.@thejaylonsmith ends practice with a sack and his trademark celebration#CowboysCamp #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/GwwDxWuIIo

— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) August 15, 2017

He is truly a guy you want to root for. He was a star at South Bend, and if all things go as he expects them to, he will be a star representing “The Star” throughout his career.

Jerry Jones was the one who announced that Smith would be playing this Saturday in Dallas and he touched base on the character of his linebacker:

“I know he is driven. He is focused. If he can come out and contribute and have success, no one deserves it more than him. It’s been real hard work and preparation, really overcoming his challenges. Nobody deserves it more than Jaylon. He has put that in and earned the respect of everybody associated with the Cowboys.”