MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In addition to training room and workout sessions each day during the summer, Geno Smith has managed to free enough time to make the requisite public appearances asked of West Virginia's soon-to-be starting quarterback.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In addition to training room and workout sessions each day during the summer, Geno Smith has managed to free enough time to make the requisite public appearances asked of West Virginia's soon-to-be starting quarterback.
The comments he gets and the questions he fields seldom vary. The questions center on the state of his healing left foot.
"I'm still in the recovery process,'' Smith tells his questioners almost as a matter of rote, "but everything's going well so far.''
The comments are just as predictable.
"[It is usually] guys telling me that the team is really depending on me and they're looking forward to seeing what I do this season,'' Smith said. "I just try to take it in stride.''
But they don't always come from fans.
"I was at a charity event with Brian Jozwiak,'' Smith said, referring to the former WVU All-America tackle. "Even he was joking around and saying how much pressure was on me. But that's a great thing.''
Indeed, if there is a disproportionate amount of pressure on any single West Virginia player this fall, it rests on Smith, the soft-spoken true sophomore quarterback from Florida. Not since the pre-Pat White days - and remember, that was five years ago - have the Mountaineers gone into a season with such an unknown quantity at such a vital position.
Think about it. Smith has been on campus barely a year. Yes, he has taken more snaps from center - 110, to be exact - than one might have expected from a true freshman. And yes, he has been in some fairly pressurized situations, namely playing most of last year's game against Marshall and the second half of the Gator Bowl against Florida State, both when starter Jarrett Brown was hurt.
But never has he gone through even so much as a single week practicing and knowing he would be the starting quarterback, much less preparing to do so for an entire season.
And now he has fans, not to mention Jozwiaks, whispering in his ear not-so-subtle reminders of the pressure he faces.
"It's just a bit of extra motivation,'' Smith said. "I'm not the nervous type of guy, but I definitely take heed to [comments like that] and use them as extra motivation.
"And hey, it's definitely better than being a no-name guy.''
Smith is rather used to the pressure of having to live up to expectations. He was raised that way. As the oldest of four children, his parents, Tracey Sellers and Eugene Smith, always expected him to set an example. And he took the role seriously.
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QB Smith 'still in recovery'
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In addition to training room and workout sessions each day during the summer, Geno Smith has managed to free enough time to make the requisite public appearances asked of West Virginia's soon-to-be starting quarterback.
The comments he gets and the questions he fields seldom vary. The questions center on the state of his healing left foot.
"I'm still in the recovery process,'' Smith tells his questioners almost as a matter of rote, "but everything's going well so far.''
The comments are just as predictable.
"[It is usually] guys telling me that the team is really depending on me and they're looking forward to seeing what I do this season,'' Smith said. "I just try to take it in stride.''
But they don't always come from fans.
"I was at a charity event with Brian Jozwiak,'' Smith said, referring to the former WVU All-America tackle. "Even he was joking around and saying how much pressure was on me. But that's a great thing.''
Indeed, if there is a disproportionate amount of pressure on any single West Virginia player this fall, it rests on Smith, the soft-spoken true sophomore quarterback from Florida. Not since the pre-Pat White days - and remember, that was five years ago - have the Mountaineers gone into a season with such an unknown quantity at such a vital position.
Think about it. Smith has been on campus barely a year. Yes, he has taken more snaps from center - 110, to be exact - than one might have expected from a true freshman. And yes, he has been in some fairly pressurized situations, namely playing most of last year's game against Marshall and the second half of the Gator Bowl against Florida State, both when starter Jarrett Brown was hurt.
But never has he gone through even so much as a single week practicing and knowing he would be the starting quarterback, much less preparing to do so for an entire season.
And now he has fans, not to mention Jozwiaks, whispering in his ear not-so-subtle reminders of the pressure he faces.
"It's just a bit of extra motivation,'' Smith said. "I'm not the nervous type of guy, but I definitely take heed to [comments like that] and use them as extra motivation.
"And hey, it's definitely better than being a no-name guy.''
Smith is rather used to the pressure of having to live up to expectations. He was raised that way. As the oldest of four children, his parents, Tracey Sellers and Eugene Smith, always expected him to set an example. And he took the role seriously.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In addition to training room and workout sessions each day during the summer, Geno Smith has managed to free enough time to make the requisite public appearances asked of West Virginia's soon-to-be starting quarterback.
The comments he gets and the questions he fields seldom vary. The questions center on the state of his healing left foot.
"I'm still in the recovery process,'' Smith tells his questioners almost as a matter of rote, "but everything's going well so far.''
The comments are just as predictable.
"[It is usually] guys telling me that the team is really depending on me and they're looking forward to seeing what I do this season,'' Smith said. "I just try to take it in stride.''
But they don't always come from fans.
"I was at a charity event with Brian Jozwiak,'' Smith said, referring to the former WVU All-America tackle. "Even he was joking around and saying how much pressure was on me. But that's a great thing.''
Indeed, if there is a disproportionate amount of pressure on any single West Virginia player this fall, it rests on Smith, the soft-spoken true sophomore quarterback from Florida. Not since the pre-Pat White days - and remember, that was five years ago - have the Mountaineers gone into a season with such an unknown quantity at such a vital position.
Think about it. Smith has been on campus barely a year. Yes, he has taken more snaps from center - 110, to be exact - than one might have expected from a true freshman. And yes, he has been in some fairly pressurized situations, namely playing most of last year's game against Marshall and the second half of the Gator Bowl against Florida State, both when starter Jarrett Brown was hurt.
But never has he gone through even so much as a single week practicing and knowing he would be the starting quarterback, much less preparing to do so for an entire season.
And now he has fans, not to mention Jozwiaks, whispering in his ear not-so-subtle reminders of the pressure he faces.
"It's just a bit of extra motivation,'' Smith said. "I'm not the nervous type of guy, but I definitely take heed to [comments like that] and use them as extra motivation.
"And hey, it's definitely better than being a no-name guy.''
Smith is rather used to the pressure of having to live up to expectations. He was raised that way. As the oldest of four children, his parents, Tracey Sellers and Eugene Smith, always expected him to set an example. And he took the role seriously.
"I'm the oldest and I have to look out for them,'' Smith said. "My mom always told me that I have to set the bar high as far as a level of achievement and to take pride in that. She always told me that she's proud of me, but at the same time she's my toughest critic. She never let me settle for less and that's one thing that's always kept me focused. It keeps me humble and it also makes me want to strive for more.''
Smith's father is more in tune with Geno's football career, never letting him forget the advantages it presents as far as being able to grow and get an education.
"My dad, he just encourages me,'' Smith said. "He tells me every day that without this football thing it's hard to excel in life. He makes me really appreciate football.''
His mother, it seems, simply tolerates football as a means to an end.
"She didn't really care much about my high school games. I mean, she knew that we were winning or whatever,'' Smith said. "It was all about those grades in high school. It's about the same way now. She's always seeing what classes I've got, making sure I'm going to class.''
While Smith is obviously the heir apparent to Brown as West Virginia's quarterback, he doesn't necessarily like to look at it that way. After all, he missed much of the real work during spring practice with that broken foot and watched Coley White make progress. Now that summer has arrived, he has freshmen Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson around.
He sees them all as competition, but not the stiffest he is facing.
"I'm my biggest competition,'' Smith said. "That's not in a boastful or bragging way because I'm also my biggest critic. He never feels like I'm at the top of my game because I feel like there's always room to get better and always room for improvement. Every time I step on the field I try to go as hard as I can and try to be the best. And the rest is up to the coaches.''
For the next month, much of Smith's efforts will remain confined to rehabilitating his broken foot. He still gets in his work on the field, throwing with receivers three times a week and going through seven-on-seven drills. He is also trying to bulk up to about 220 pounds from the 200-205 at which he played as a freshman.
But nothing he does is allowed to get in the way of making sure he is healthy come the first weekend of August, when players report for camp.
"If I feel even the slightest pain I'll report it to [the conditioning staff trainers] and we'll check it out,'' Smith said. "But mainly everything is getting my foot acclimated to running full force and going 100 percent. The first two workouts I was pretty hesitant, but after that everything's been full go.''
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
QB Smith 'still in recovery'
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In addition to training room and workout sessions each day during the summer, Geno Smith has managed to free enough time to make the requisite public appearances asked of West Virginia's soon-to-be starting quarterback.
The comments he gets and the questions he fields seldom vary. The questions center on the state of his healing left foot.
"I'm still in the recovery process,'' Smith tells his questioners almost as a matter of rote, "but everything's going well so far.''
The comments are just as predictable.
"[It is usually] guys telling me that the team is really depending on me and they're looking forward to seeing what I do this season,'' Smith said. "I just try to take it in stride.''
But they don't always come from fans.
"I was at a charity event with Brian Jozwiak,'' Smith said, referring to the former WVU All-America tackle. "Even he was joking around and saying how much pressure was on me. But that's a great thing.''
Indeed, if there is a disproportionate amount of pressure on any single West Virginia player this fall, it rests on Smith, the soft-spoken true sophomore quarterback from Florida. Not since the pre-Pat White days - and remember, that was five years ago - have the Mountaineers gone into a season with such an unknown quantity at such a vital position.
Think about it. Smith has been on campus barely a year. Yes, he has taken more snaps from center - 110, to be exact - than one might have expected from a true freshman. And yes, he has been in some fairly pressurized situations, namely playing most of last year's game against Marshall and the second half of the Gator Bowl against Florida State, both when starter Jarrett Brown was hurt.
But never has he gone through even so much as a single week practicing and knowing he would be the starting quarterback, much less preparing to do so for an entire season.
And now he has fans, not to mention Jozwiaks, whispering in his ear not-so-subtle reminders of the pressure he faces.
"It's just a bit of extra motivation,'' Smith said. "I'm not the nervous type of guy, but I definitely take heed to [comments like that] and use them as extra motivation.
"And hey, it's definitely better than being a no-name guy.''
Smith is rather used to the pressure of having to live up to expectations. He was raised that way. As the oldest of four children, his parents, Tracey Sellers and Eugene Smith, always expected him to set an example. And he took the role seriously.
