Cam Smith CB South Carolina: Scouting Report

Height: 6’0

Weight: 188

Overall

Cam Smith is a dominant cover corner in South Carolina’s man heavy defense. In his 4 seasons with the Gamecocks, he has played in 33 games, starting 21 of them. He is a tremendous athlete and was dominant in both zone and man coverage on film.

Pass Game

On film, Smith played a lot of man coverage and would often play press at the line of scrimmage. In press, he takes too many false steps at the start of his back-pedal but he makes up for it with his athleticism and speed. Besides the false steps he has excellent footwork and has very good balance and hip fluidity to stay square with his man down the field. He also does a good job of getting his hands on his man early and squeezing them to the sideline. When playing off the line of scrimmage, he has good patience and makes excellent breaks on the ball. In zone, he has very good vision and can use his speed to make up ground in a hurry. He was dominant playing underneath in cover 2. He had a lot of production during his college career and he consistently broke up passes at the catch point. Even though he is not the biggest corner, he is physical and plays with a ton of confidence to match up in coverage against big, physical receivers in the NFL.

Run Game

In the run game, Smith shows good effort in getting to the ball-carrier but he needs to be better at wrapping up and finishing his tackles. His lack of size could cause some problems against the run early in his career but he has the attitude and toughness to develop into a strong run supporting player.

Last Word

Smith projects best as an outside corner but he is fluid enough to be used in the slot if needed. He has the coverage skills to be a number 1 corner in the NFL and he is versatile enough to excel in both man and zone defenses. He needs to improve as a tackler to help in run support and to be used on special teams.

One-Liner: Cam Smith has the coverage technique, ball skills, and confidence to be a lockdown corner in the NFL.

Grade: 7.0 (High End 3 Down Starter)

Games Watched: 2022 - Kentucky; 2021 - Vanderbilt, Clemson

Team Fits: Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers