Wednesday, March 31, 2010

UTEP safety Cromartie-Smith not shy of contact

UTEP safety Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith is a player who likes to be physical and hit you and would rather take on contact then avoid it.

“I like to be physical, I like to play in the box, and I don’t worry about taken on pulling offensive linemen,” said Cromartie-Smith. “I like to read the play and then attack it, kind of like safety Adrian Wilson (of the Arizona Cardinals).”

Cromartie-Smith as a junior was second on the team in tackles with 77, he also had 2 tackles for losses, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions. This past season he led the team with 108 total tackles and had 4 tackles for loss and 1 interception.

Even with a productive college career Cromartie-Smith knows he can get better.

“I have been training and working to be more flexible, being able to flip my hips and change directions better,” said Cromartie-Smith. “I also know I need to work on my balls skills to become a better all around player.”

Cromartie-Smith did something rare in these days of getting ready for Pro Days and the NFL Combine he trainer at UTEP by himself and had some great results at his Pro Day. He was 6-1 1/2, 206 ran the 40 yard dash is 4.46 seconds, the short shuttle in 4.47 seconds, and the three-cone drill in 7.24 seconds. He measured a 32-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot-9 inch broad jump and did 20 bench press repetitions at 225 pounds.

“I just trained at school, because I wanted to finish my degree, and that was important to me,” said Cromartie-Smith. “I did lift with a friend and mainly I wanted to work on the 40 yard dash and the bench press.”

Cromartie-Smith had some question marks going into the Texas vs. the Nation game if he could play at the next level but those questions where answered quickly.

“I wanted to see how I would do against higher level of competition, and at the Texas vs. the Nation game it gave me the ability to check that out,” said Cromartie-Smith. “After being there with all the guys I knew I could play at next level and it made me push myself even harder.”

Cromartie-Smith can play at the next level and will be a taken on contact rather then avoiding it.

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