It was second down and 2 yards to go. Clemson was on South Carolina’s 46-yard line in the 2021 season finale. Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei dropped back to pass deep.
Unfortunately for Uiaglelei, South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith was in coverage. Smith, the Dolphins’ second-round pick, read the play, took inside position and made an impressive interception.
“I just know that there are not many other corners that could do that,” South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said. “The energy that he had, and just the balance and stuff.”
By all accounts, the Dolphins got a good one in Smith, who was among numerous Dolphins rookies on the field Friday during rookie minicamp.
Smith, who declared for the draft after his junior year, is a ballhawk who ranked ninth in the FBS as a sophomore with 1.3 passes defended per game.
His calling card is his aggression.
But admittedly, sometimes Smith’s aggressiveness becomes too much. He drew 10 penalties last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I kind of tried to stronghold people a lot to try to assert my dominance on people,” Smith said. “Sometimes that gets me in trouble.”
The key for Smith is learning to play under control.
“Cam is all aggressive, mentally and physically, meaning he’s going to take chances, he’s going to jump routes,” White said.
“His attitude, his deameanor is edgy in a good way. But at times, you have to manage it. But he’s definitely an edgy guy. He’s more on the aggressive side of things.”
At 6-foot, 188 pounds, Smith, who was flagged six times for holding or pass interference through South Carolina’s first seven games last season, is a fiery competitor who sometimes runs hot, possibly similar to Jarvis Landry, the ex-Dolphins wide receiver who had a similar tendency.
“Now, it’s going to take some managing,” White said of Smith. “That’s it. That’s just life. It comes with the territory. Some DBs (defensive backs) are just wired that way and he’s wired in an aggressive, edgy way so you’ve got to be able to handle that, and I think they will.”
Regardless of the tendency to be overly aggressive, Smith is a talented player who should work out well for the Dolphins.
The thing is, it’s tough to say how soon we’ll see Smith as a starting cornerback.
Smith will have to fight hard to earn playing time. He’s unlikely to start at boundary cornerback over Pro Bowlers Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey. And in the slot, Smith has to battle Kader Kohou, last year’s undrafted rookie standout, and Nik Needham, a veteran who missed much of last season with an Achilles injury.
White said Smith is a boundary cornerback who can play in the slot, but he’s better on the outside.
“He’s a cover corner,” White said. “He’s more of a Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain kind of Miami Dolphins corner versus the bigger zone guys.”
South Carolina played lots of man-to-man coverage so Smith might have to adjust to playing a lot of zone under Vic Fangio, the Dolphins defensive coordinator. But he said that won’t be an issue.
“We played a variation of zone at South Carolina,” Smith said. “It was a Cover 4 concept but it was a lot of man press, just like here. So just having that in my toolbox, the zone stuff really comes and comes easy. You’ve nothing got to teach.”
You get the idea that learning isn’t a problem for Smith, though.
White, South Carolina’s defensive coordinator the last two years, said he knew right away Smith was special. He had a unique ability to read routes, cover routes and anticipate routes. He also noticed Smith had an upbeat personality with a high football I.Q.
“The first thing you notice is he’s a happy dude who is, what’s the word, he’s very smart when it comes to football,” White said. “So sometimes his approach can come off wrong.
“We worked on his approach and his delivery. But besides that, he loves football. He loves practice. He loves players. Trust me, they’re going to be glad they have him.”