COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to Ohio State's final pregame depth chart of the 2014 season, one of the biggest risers in the 2015 NFL draft wasn't even a starter in his senior season.
That would be Devin Smith, the Buckeyes' big-play wideout who somehow was listed as a second-stringer throughout Ohio State's run to a national championship. Smith's backup status, however, was in title only, as he led the Buckeyes with team highs of 931 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Massillon, Ohio, native enjoyed a particularly strong stretch to finish his senior season, hauling in a combined seven passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State's three postseason games.
That momentum has carried over to this week's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where Smith has continued to make his case for being one of the draft's hottest prospects.
At 6'1" and 199 pounds, size and speed have never been issues for the former member of the Buckeyes' track team. That was apparent from the moment he set foot on Ohio State's campus, catching 14 balls for 294 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman despite dealing with shaky quarterback play.
Smith's average of 21 yards per catch as a freshman seemed promising, but over time it became the stat that seemed to define his career.
Just once did the Ohio State speedster lead the Buckeyes in receptions—his 14 in 2011 tied two other players for the team lead—but he twice led OSU in receiving yards. In 2014, he tallied 21 fewer catches than team leader Michael Thomas.
To some, Smith was nothing more than a deep threat during his time at Ohio State, a sentiment the numbers seem to back up.
That's not to say the Buckeyes didn't benefit from his ability to make the timely play, with Smith hauling in five second-half, game-winning touchdowns throughout his college career.
In the 22 games during which Smith caught a touchdown, Ohio State was undefeated.
But questions still persisted about Smith's consistency, as he'd go on long droughts without making a play or drop a routine catch moments after making a spectacular one. In Mobile, Smith admitted he was aware of his reputation, although he also claimed to just be playing his role in Columbus.
Smith discussed this with Scout.com's Jamie Newberg:
I know I have a lot to prove. I want to establish myself as a route-runner and that I can do all the things they ask and that I can block. I did all those things on the practice fields at Ohio State. I ran all the routes at Ohio State. But when it came to the games they wanted me to stretch the field. In the games that’s how they used me.
According to Bleacher Report Lead Draft Analyst Matt Miller, the early returns on Smith's week in Mobile—with the game still to be played on Saturday— have been positive, although Miller noted that it's been hard to evaluate the receivers at the Senior Bowl based on the underwhelming play of the game's quarterbacks.
What may bode even better for the first-round hopeful is his performance over the final three games of his college career, as he was able to showcase his ability in a more NFL-like offense.
That was when Cardale Jones was first inserted into the OSU lineup, after Smith spent the majority of his college career playing with Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett at quarterback.
While talented, neither Miller nor Barrett possess an arm like Jones', who was thought to be a potential early pick before deciding to return to Ohio State for the 2015 season.
It didn't take long for Smith to click with Jones, hauling in a 39-yard touchdown pass on the Buckeyes' opening drive of the Big Ten Championship Game. Smith would go on to catch additional touchdowns of 44 and 42 yards in what was ultimately a 59-0 walloping of Wisconsin.
"I feel like we’re way more effective when we throw deep now," Smith said at the time. "[Jones] can just put it on the money."
Jones would find Smith twice for 87 yards and a score in the Sugar Bowl/College Football Playoff semifinal against Alabama, with Smith's 47-yard third-quarter touchdown giving the Buckeyes a 27-21 lead. He would catch just one ball in the national title game against Oregon, although true to form, it came for a gain of 45 yards.
Smith's yards-per-catch average of 28.2 led the nation in 2014 and was a whole four yards higher than that of Miami's Phillip Dorsett, who finished second.
That's been enough to land him on the radar of almost every NFL team, as there's always a place in the league for a deep-play threat of Smith's caliber.
With the "silly season," as one scout put it to me, still ahead and the scouting combine and workouts still remaining, Smith already projects as a player whose floor appears to be a second-round pick.
Miller currently places him at 39th on his big board, while ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. projects that Smith will be selected with the final pick of the draft's first round.
And that's not to mention that with strong showings in the next three months, Smith could very well continue to climb.
Not bad for a "backup."
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com, and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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