Defensive lineman James Smith joined the Ohio State Buckeyes from the Alabama Crimson Tide via the transfer portal in January. Smith followed a familiar path from Tuscaloosa to Columbus, most recently taken by star safety Caleb Downs, who won a national championship with the Buckeyes and is a first-round NFL Draft hopeful.
Ohio State’s Matt Patricia Praises James Smith’s Leadership
While speaking to reporters after spring practice on Thursday, Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia lavished praise on Smith’s leadership abilities and his willingness to learn.
“James is amazing, great player, bright, young kid, and he just gravitates to football,” Patricia said. “I love to teach the game, and he wants to learn. It’s not just sitting there and watching tape all day long, sometimes even having football conversations, and when you’re around guys like James, who has this amazing personality, you just love him.
ALSO READ: Alabama QB Ty Simpson Outshines ‘Robotic’ Fernando Mendoza at Pro Day, per Chase Daniel
“He wants to be great. He wants to improve. His thirst for knowledge, I love it, it’s great. Him coming into the program with that energy and that standard of how he knows things need to be done and holding everybody accountable. I love that leadership that he has about him, too.”
Smith joined the Crimson Tide as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 28 overall prospect in the country in the class of 2023, the season before Nick Saban retired.
Smith Explains the Difference Between Alabama and Ohio State
In an interview with the “Eleven Warriors” podcast on Thursday, Smith revealed his reason for leaving Alabama for Ohio State, including the instability of the Crimson Tide setup under coach Kalen DeBoer.
“No, really big reason,” Smith said. “I just feel like I needed, just a new start. Nothing against ‘Bama, great program. Just needed a fresh start. It kind of gave me, like that feeling back when I visited as a freshman with Saban, it kind of felt like that. Because here, I ain’t gonna lie, I came here, they didn’t lie to me not one time.
“I just feel like the intensity is different. I wouldn’t even say the intensity, it’s just like, everything’s so intentional. Everybody’s already laid out. They came in with a new coaching staff at ‘Bama, so it’s like they’re all still trying to learn and stuff. Here it’s already stable and they already know.”
In 15 games played for Alabama last season, Smith registered 17 solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and one pass defended, earning a PFSN College Defensive Tackle Impact score of 77.2%.
