I think Smith Will develop into a great quarterback. Sure, he'll miss a few passes, but it's his first day of practice. He'll get used to it.

There should be a headline when smith is on target. he was off target for four years at ohio st. I wonder if he played at Dartmouth or some other small school if we would of ever heard of or drafted him. That pick was the most unravenlike pick ever. I cant believe the scouts were responsible for that pick-had to be ozzie.

good job kevin, you've just proven you never saw this kid play. The kid has missed a few passes like all qbs, but hits most of them and was clearly the best CFB player last year. If you dont like the kid thats fine, but don't make things up. Smith completed 62% of his college passes, seems on target to me.

Let me be the first to say I'm not drinking the Troy Smith flavored Kool-Aid just yet. I wish the media would follow suit and stop procaliming him as the next great QB in Baltimore. There is a reason he dropped so far in the draft. Its because he was more of a product of Tressle's offensive system. Just about any QB would look skillful if he had Gonzalez, Ginn and Holmes to throw too and a talented backfield to hand the ball off too. Yes Smith did make some plays at OSU, but so did Jason White at Oklahoma and look where's he at now ( insurance salesman). Troy Smith was a conistent QB at OSU but he never wowed me with his talent, field direction or arm strength, nor did he ever take over a game. Did anyone see the Florida game?

Im surprised at some of the negativity at Troy Smith. The truth is we dont know anything until he gets out and begins to play on a regular basis. However, I can say this, I have followed Troy at Ohio State and even attended some of his games. This man is a natural leader. His teammates were instantly drawn to him, respected and trusted him. He overcame many personal obstacles to get to where he is. Whether this means he is next great quarterback for the Ravens, Im not sure, but he has a great foundation. There is more upside to this man then we realize and I look forward to watching him develop as a Raven. Who knows? We may have the next Cinderella Man or Seabiscuit on our hands.

Patrick, I think the Florida game should be discounted from the conversation. It'd be one thing if Troy was the only OSU player struggling, but the only OSU player that didn't suck was Ted Ginn, and he got injured when his teammates dogpiled him in the endzone after the first play. Every other OSU player on both sides of the ball was horrible, and last I checked, the Ravens didn't draft any other OSU player.

It's kinda the same problem Michael Vick had last year. People kept ragging on Vick for not getting passes completed, but it's hard to have a high completion percentage when the recievers drop virtually every single ball unless it's velcroed to their hands.

Troy Smith has a remarkable football head on his shoulders. Quick feet, good arm and great under pressure. Give him some time to prove himself in the NFL, where everything moves faster then college.

As a big Troy fan it will be interesting to see how he develops in the NFL. Its too hard to predict until we see him get out there, but there are few things that need cleared up...His has a pretty strong arm. He did have a lot of talent around him, but he wasn't a "system" QB - Tressell has adapts systems. He did make plays himself and he for sure took over games...watch ESPN classic in the middle of November and you'll probably see 3 games against Michigan that prove this.

Patrick, How could you blame the Florida game on him? Did you actually see the game? If you did you'd see that OSU's offensive line never dressed for the game. Ask one of the best (Peyton Manning) what happens when the defense (Steelers, AFC Championship Game) is in there every play. Smith is in the NFL now, almost every starting receiver is like Gonzalez, Holmes and Ginn.

Love the comment about Troy Smith not being accurate at Ohio State. If setting the big ten record for passing efficiency means you're off target then I hope his replacement is off target too.

Apolgies to the Sun Staff. I seem to have upset the Maryland Chapter of the Buckeye Mafia.

You’re all right. Troy Smith was a good QB in college. He made lots and lots of great plays. But before you inhale another gallon of the #11 Kool Aid please remember one simple number.

3 The position on the QB depth chart Troy MIGHT be if he wins the third string quarterback job competition against Drew Olson. Despite his “legendary” greatness at OSU that everyone here seems to swear their life by, the guy is going to have to go out and win himself a job in camp. Then and only then he just might be our third QB. Unless of course the injury bug hits at another position and the Ravens need to cut someone in order to make a signing. Then Troy ( with all his great games at OSU) just might be out of a job.

I see many of you have never seen Troy Smith play football. He has one of the strongest arms I have ever seen. 62% completions. Quick on his feet. He's a very hard worker and he came from the bottom at O.S.U. With McNair as a mentor he can be what he was in college. And as for the BCS Game. That's 1 out of many and that was'nt his fault. They did'nt like Troy when he got to O.S.U. but by the time he left he was the best QB in O.S.U. history. Know your history before you start talking. He could'nt have went to a better place. He's very motivated. And if he pans out Cleveland and every other team in the league will be his Michigan. I can't believe he slipped that far. WHAT A STEAL!!!

Not a bad gamble in the 5th round the upside is HUGE is he develops.I just hope he doesnt end up like derek anderson and josh harris 2nd day picks who the browns claim off our practice squad.....he may not be 6'4 but either is drew brees,mike vick its all about poise not height and playing against the teams he faced he was never really rattled to make poor throws,look at the numbers.

I'm not a Troy Smith fan or Ravens fan at that, but I have to admit that he did some impressive things at Ohio State and I think he can be just as impressive with the Ravens if he is given time to develop. As far as him being 3rd on the depth chart goes, it's just a matter of time before he overtakes Kyle Boller. All of you guys seem to forget, every other QB on the Ravens roster with the exception of Steve McNair, has proven to be an NFL joke. Drew Olson is hanging on for dear life and Kyle Boller...well, just look at his body of work. The Ravens very rarely go wrong with their draft picks and if history repeats itself, we should see great things out of this 5th round pick.

Jim: While Ozzie has a great history of drafting, selecting Quarterbacks has been his kryptonite. Please see Jon Stark, Wally Richardson, Chris Redman, Wes Pate, Kyle Boller, Josh Harris and Derek Anderson. All of those quarterbacks did “impressive” things in college, no matter the level of play, yet they never panned out in the NFL.

Now you’ll argue that Troy Smith played in a big time program at Ohio State, guided his team to competitive finishes every season, put up very impressive numbers and won a Heisman. I agree, but do the names Jason White, Chris Weinke, Josh Heuple, Danny Wueffle, Gino Torrento, Andre Ware and Ty Detmer ring a bell? All of these guys did pretty much the same things Smith did in college. So what makes Troy so different or so special?

We can debate the Troy Smith “career potential” the rest of the offseason but in reality we won’t know anything until the guy starts playing in regular season games, which probably won’t be for two to three years, if at all. I get yours and every other Troy Smith fan’s argument that he was a great QB in college and did lots of impressive things and is therefore qualified to be a future starting QB for the Ravens. I don’t dispute the first part. My argument is simply that lots of QBs put up impressive numbers in college like the names I mentioned above and showed the potential for a promising pro career yet they never got their careers off the ground. So I agree with you that he does have the potential to be a starting QB in the NFL. But he also has the potential to be working at Subway three years from now.

your right but doesnt the fans of baltimore deserve the right to get excited its all part of being a fan.Ozzie isnt known for making "sexy" picks in the draft,and almost all those guys you mentioned are alot different than troy smith you cannot denie the tools he has compared to them,but your are right he may not be able to convert them to the pro level, but either way most 5th round picks dont make the club anyway.Its worth the gamble.

Troy Smith will not make it in the NFL!!! 75 -80% of his so-called great plays occurred from outside the pocket. Can you say "HAPPY FEET' in the NFL. Things develop on the line of scrimmage at light speed and he does not have the capability to read and make good decisions in that time. You can love him in the college game, but NFL QB he is not. He may have been the man amongst the BOYS in college, but he is and always will be a babe amongst men in the NFL.

Troy smith will develope as the best 5th round draft ever the kid is a overcomer with time and he is very smart.After mcnair wins 2 rings the batttle for the next dynesty in BTOWN WILL BE TROY SMITH.Kyle and troy will battle drew will be their back up. Ravens rule the afc

I've got a name for all of you, a man who defied all of the analysts and is one of the best scrambling qb's of all time (See NFL Network's Top 10 scrambling quarterbacks): Doug Flutie. The man is just as short as Troy Smith, if not shorter. Troy Smith may have made mistakes in Ohio State, the Florida game in particular, but he knows the game, and he will get to become familiar with the Ravens running style offense. Not to mention, up until last year, the ravens pass protection had been tragic. A scrambling quarterback like Smith will open the playbook and get the line moved around, and just wait and see, the knowledge that Smith has of the game, and his quick ability to learn will earn him the starting role in a year or two.
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Not sure what my colleagues will have to say on the topic but as a guy who won't win any rebounding titles, I have to tell you that I'm always rooting for normal-sized people iN the NFL to do well. Guys like Flutie and Drew Brees are personal favorites. I do think there's always the important issue of finding windows to make the throw but I agree with people like the Ravens college scouting director Eric DeCosta who contend that a QB who can make quick reads and deliver the ball efficiently can find those windows despite not being Peyton Manning tall. Personally, I think shifting in the pocket is more essntial than outright scrambling ability and frankly, I believe that the recognition factor (pre- and post-snap) will determine Smith's pro future more than his his mobility. Thanks for writing.
--Bill Ordine

Who are you people? Troy Smith is the next Drew Brees. History is the best predictor of the future, so look at the man's history. Always a winner. Great athlete. A student of the game, who refuses to fail, who has one blotch on his record, when his offensive line was 170 lbs overweight.

Sure Troy Smith had a TERRIBLE game vs Florida, but if you watched people were coming at him 'literally' unblocked, and he made a few of them miss, but there was nothing. Their D was amazing, I have to give credit, recievers completely covered too. People also seem to forget that JaMarcus Russell the #1 draft pick in the NFL had 3 INTS AND a lost fumble vs Florida, so you could make some arguements on who had a worse game there. The difference I see is that Smith has a better game presence, he knows where people are, watch Russell, he has no sense of when someone is closing on him. Also while TRoy apparently had a rough go early in camp, he will find his timing with the recievers. Ginn is as fast as they get and Smith was finding him without breaking stride deep and he consistently put the ball out in front of Gonzales in the middle of the field, which Russel doesnt do. And he does have the biggest arm, while he might not throw farther than Russell he throws harder and still won the long throw contest, though Russell didnt play. Given time and tutoring to understand this sytem Smith will be a playmaker.