[Editor's note: This article originally appeared on our partner site, WVUPros]
Nine touchdowns. Nine incompletions.
Two games into his senior season, those are two stats that immediately jump off the stats sheet at you. After Matt Barkley and USC lost on Saturday night, many believe that Smith is the current front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. We will let others debate Geno Smith and the Heisman. Here, we discuss Mountaineers in the Pros.
The current Mountaineer team has several players who will have their names called in the 2013 NFL Draft. Geno Smith, likely, will be the first of those selected. At 6’4″, Smith has the ideal height for an NFL quarterback. At 214 lbs. Smith is a little light.
After two games against Marshall and James Madison, Smith leads the nation in completion percentage at an astounding 88%. He has nine incompletions in 75 attempts and has thrown for 734 yards and nine touchdowns. Behind Smith, the Mountaineers have the nation’s third-ranked offense at 612.0 yards per game.
Smith is a very accurate passer, able to make NFL-level decisions and rarely turns the ball over. He has the ability to make a variety of throws on an NFL level.
One of Smith’s big improvements through two games is greatly improved footwork, in and out of the pocket. He shows he worked on his footwork in the pocket during the offseason with by better evading the rush. He gives his receivers more time to get open. Through two games, he has yet to be sacked. Against Marshall, he had a Pat White-esque scramble for a long touchdown.
Among the top-tier quarterbacks in next year’s Draft, Smith is in the company of Matt Barkley (USC), Logan Thomas (VT) and Tyler Wilson (Arkansas).
Benjamin Allbright of NFL Draft Monsters offers this opinion of where he would take Smith next April:
"I came in looking at the tape thinking I’d be scouting a second tier quarterback with upside, but came away with the second highest grade I’ve given to the draft eligible quarterbacks thus far (Tyler Wilson of Arkansas). Smith exhibits all of the tools needed to be successful at the next level, and in my opinion is a franchise quarterback prospect. I have an early first round grade on him, and if he continues to play at the level he has, would have no problem spending a top 15 pick on him."
As the Mountaineer season progresses, we will check in on Smith, Tavon Austin and other senior Mountaineers who could hear their names called in next April’s NFL Draft.