KK Smith has flashed at times during practice during his first two years on campus and started to fight for a consistent role on Saturdays last fall.
The X-factor for Smith has been injuries. Smith missed much of his freshman season recovering from a shoulder injury and then broke his clavicle in November, which held him out of Notre Dame’s playoff run.
It’s been a frustrating run for Smith, but he’s healthy and focused on earning a role this spring.
“I’m trusting the process, my coaches and knowing they have a plan for me,” stated Smith. “Whenever I’m on the field, I have to be ready to execute whenever my number is called.”
The Texas native is seeing the game slow down this spring and it’s allowed him to play fast, which is what he was brought to Notre Dame to do. Every team is looking for speed and Smith provides Notre Dame with plenty.
“I feel like I’m playing fast,” explained Smith. “I know the plays. I’m not being hesitant. I’m just going off the ball. I feel like I’m high pointing really well right now. I need to work on still a couple things. But I feel like I’m high pointing and playing fast right now.”
Smith started to earn the staff's trust a year ago as he found himself on the field for 90 plays, including a career-high 43 plays against Purdue.
And earning more trust is what Smith is dialed in on in the present.
“That’s a big deal to me,” Smith said. “I know Coach (Mike) Brown has his eyes on me and wants to see me in this offense and see what I can do. I know (Mike) Denbrock does, Coach (Gino) Guidugli, everybody. Having that same confidence. Knowing that I can make these plays. It’s nothing new. I’ve been doing it my whole life. I can do it at this level, too.”
Perhaps the moment the staff knew Smith was all-in was before the Orange Bowl. It had been just over a month since his injury, and the staff asked if they could hit him. Smith didn’t know if he could take a hit, but he made sure they knew he was willing to get hit.
“I had been itching to get on the field and to be able to showcase what I can do,” explained Smith. "I do believe I can play at this level and flourish at this level. I’ve been showing that in practice every other day and I’m trying to get it to where it’s consistent and the coaches can rely on me. Same with the quarterbacks.”
Speaking of quarterbacks, Smith has been impressed with how Steve Angeli, CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey have gone to work over the first three weeks of spring ball.
“You get a mix of a little bit of everything with all three of them,” said Smith. “CJ, Kenny, they like to run a little bit more than Steve. They’ve all got on-time throws to us. They throw the deep ball well. It’s gonna be competitive. I honestly can’t say who I’d put in front right now, but it’s gonna be a good show when we get down to it.”
Now, a quarterback competition always comes with positives and negatives, but Smith sees the benefits as all three are pushing the ball down the field, which is every receiver's dream.
“I like it,” said Smith. “Different quarterbacks in the competition mean they get to throw the ball deep and try to make plays with us. I get to make plays and everybody is happy.”
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