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Pencil in Josh Smith

Posted August 8, 2007

It's the third day day of camp and by now most Buffs fans have heard about true freshmen wide receiver Josh Smith.

The kid just keeps making plays.

I'm not saying Smith will be a starter in the season opener Sept. 1 against Colorado State, but barring a sudden return to earth in the level of his play or injury, he's got to play this season.

I think I have seen Smith drop two balls in all the drills I've seen him run thus far. Now obviously, I'm not focused on him every moment, but one of those balls was a pass and the other was a punt.

The guy has some electricity to him, and he's hard to miss with his helmet off. He's always smiling and he has dreadlocks hanging well passed his shoulders. He's 6-foot-1 and a little skinny at 180 pounds, but he's fast and elusive.

I'm looking forward to seeing him grow up...

Freshman quarterback Matt Ballenger showed why coaches have referred to him as raw in today's morning practice. Ballenger was having a hard time hanging on to the football and he seemed to struggle to put his mistakes behind him. I'm sure he will get over that in time. He has a great arm.

Terrence Wheatley is one starting cornerback and right now Ben Burney and Cha'pelle Brown are vying to become the other. I think Burney has a little bit of an edge there. I'm sure it didn't help Brown to be moving back and forth between wide receiver and cornerback in the offseason.

...Today was media day at the Dal Ward Center. It's basically a chance to for us in the media to sit around a try to get to know some of the guys on the team better. I found out some interesting things about some of the players, and I'll be sharing that stuff with you over the next few days.

Check back tonight for another update following the afternoon practice. You can also listen to coach Hawkins press conference from this afternoon on our podcast feature on Buffzone. Enjoy.