‘Not normal’: Darris Smith brings size, speed to Missouri football defensive end room

Darris Smith had the cornerback beat.

Of course he did.

Smith, one of Missouri football’s December transfer portal acquisitions, was a Georgia Class 3A champion in the 400-meter and the 4×400 relay. He had a few steps on the defensive back with nobody else in the area code. But instead of making it a few more paces and breaking away, the two-way star slowed to a canter to invite the challenge … depending on your definition of the word “challenge.”

“Absolutely stiff-armed him all the way into the ground,” said Jordan Mullis, Smith’s coach at Appling County High. “Maybe like six inches deep,” before running it in for a touchdown.

Of course he did.

“He likes to hit people,” Smith’s father, Darris Smith Sr., said. “He likes to be aggressive.”

That checks out, too. Darris Smith is naturally a defensive end.

And, now, he’s Missouri defensive end.

Mizzou has wrapped up its spring camp — Darris Smith’s first official batch of practices in Columbia — and has a four-month wait until players report for the fall. Ten key members of the MU defense that went 11-2 and won the Cotton Bowl in 2023 are either out of eligibility or exploring professional opportunities.

More: Missouri basketball transfer portal tracker: Who is joining, leaving Tigers?

At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, new MU defensive end Darris Smith is hard to miss. He’s the type of player, per new Mizzou defensive ends coach Brian Early, that is the prototype for what they want their boundary defensive end to look like.

Missouri defensive end Darris Smith (19) walks on Faurot Field during the Tigers’ spring game March 16 in Columbia.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/not-normal-darris-smith-brings-080203031.html

Author : Columbia Daily Tribune

Publish date : 2024-03-31 08:02:03

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