Scott Barnett Emerald
Senior defensive tackle Caleb Smith gets a rare chance to carry the ball after the only interception of his career against Nevada.
For the past five years, Caleb
Smith has brought dedication
and intelligence to the Oregon
football team
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
Meet Caleb Smith.
Big dude, right? Six
foot-5,282 pounds.
But that’s all relative.
He’ll tell you himself. He’s small
for a defensive lineman on a big
time Division 1-A college football
team.
So forget all the preconcep
tions. About size. About athletes.
About intelligence. About peo
ple.
And please, meet Buddy.
“Buddy is a veteran,” Oregon
head coach Mike Bellotti said.
“He’s truly looked on as one of
the leaders on this team. He’s like
a coach on the field. ”
He’s also much like a coach in
how he responds to questions —
dude can elaborate beautifully.
Like this:
“I don’t think we have any one
guy on defense who everyone
looks to in times of crisis,” Smith
begins. “We all look to each other
collectively, 'cause there are guys
like myself, Peter Sirmon,
Michael Fletcher, Brandon
McLemore, Justin Wilcox, Terry
Miller—you name it. When
things are going bad, we don’t
start point fingers, which can be
very detrimental to your success.
We don’t look for one guy to rally
around. We just rally around each
other because we’ve been here so
long, we’re able to be open and
honest with each other when
stuff is going bad. We can look
each other in the eye and say ‘All
right, let’s pick it up
Despite his penchant for articu
lation, Smith is unsure what he’ll
be doing after he completes his
graduate work in Oregon’s
renowned Warsaw Sports Mar
keting program next year.
He knows it will be something
with sports. And with business.
And, most definitely, with peo
ple.
“He keeps it real,” junior cor
nerback Ryan Mitchell said. “He
always lets you know what he’s
thinking. That’s good, ‘cause a lot
of people sit in the back and don’t
let you know what’s up. Nothing
gets done like that.”
Be assured, Smith gets it done.
Never one of the Ducks’ most
spectacular player, Smith’s im
proved considerably in his five
year career.
He’s already earned a degree in
business administration, finish
ing his undergraduate studies
with a cumulative grade point av
erage of 3.42.
This year, he’s getting himself
out of bed for 8 a.m. sports mar
keting classes.
All that, and he said he’s the
one who keeps things tidy at
home, constantly cleaning up af
ter his teammates/ roommates.
11 He keeps it real, he al
ways lets you know what
he’s thinking.
Ryan Mitchell . .
junior cornerback //
“I’m really tidy,” said, Smith,
who arrived at Oregon from
Vashon, Wash. “That’s probably
pretty annoying to some of the
guys, ‘cause I really like have
things in order. It’s gotta be hard
to relax when you have someone
walking around the house pick
ing up.”
He’s managed to pick up a few
things on the field as well. So
even though his teammates might
not enjoy all of Smith’s living
habits, they’re certainly more
comfortable with his on-the-field
routines.
“He can play any position
down there,” senior rover
Michael Fletcher said. “He’s
probably the most intelligent
player that we have on the defen
sive line.”
Those smarts helped Smith
earn Pac-10 first-team all-acade
mic honors last season.
“That means a lot,” he said.
“Because for me, I know football
is not gonna be carrying me be
Turn to Smith, Page 12B
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