Boulder — When talking about Saturday’s homecoming game against third-ranked Oklahoma, coaches could use Colorado’s new starting middle linebacker as an example of, well, playing Smart.
“Against Oklahoma you can’t make mistakes that you might get away with against other teams,” said Jeff Smart, a 5-foot-11, 250-pound sophomore. “The details are going to be even more important than they already are.”
A former walk-on from Boulder High School, Smart gets the start for the second straight week out of necessity. One day before last weekend’s game against Miami (Ohio), projected starter Michael Sipili was suspended for the entire semester by the school’s Office of Judicial Affairs. The penalty was imposed for Sipili’s role in an off-campus fight in June that injured another student.
Sipili had been replaced by junior J.R. Brown. But Brown remains sidelined for the second straight game after suffering a concussion against Florida State.
“You never want to lose anyone, especially a guy like Mike,” Smart said of Sipili. “He’s a good football player. That’s going to hurt us.
“We were already thin at linebacker. Now we’re thinner. We’ll just have to adjust, but we’ll be alright.”
CU defensive coordinator Ron Collins said he feels fortunate that Smart joined the program without a scholarship prior to the 2005 season. Smart redshirted in 2005.
“Jeff is playing well,” Collins said. “He works hard. He’s got some speed. He’s doing a nice job. We have confidence in him.”
Smart was awarded a scholarship by CU coach Dan Hawkins following the Florida State game.
“Football-wise that doesn’t change anything,” Smart said. “It’s pretty sweet, though.”
Smart has beaten the odds. A late-bloomer who was injured with a hip pointer for much of his senior year at Boulder High, Smart said his best scholarship offers came from San Jose State and Northern Colorado.
He said no thanks and jumped at the chance to join the Buffaloes when then-coach Gary Barnett asked him to be an invited walk-on. Smart was born and raised in Boulder.
“I just really like Boulder,” Smart said. “After going to other cities and towns, I wanted to play here. It’s pretty nice to be able to see my parents and sister all the time.”
“I like the school,” he said. “And I looked at it as, if something happened in football, where I broke a leg or something, I wanted to be at a place where I’d be happy.”
A Smart move, CU might say.
Staff Writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
