Jan. 11--When push came to shove, a bad bend turned into a bad break -- or at least some bad ligament tears -- for Jaylon Smith, who in an instant went from decorated to damaged during the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.
But Notre Dame's consensus All-American linebacker is expected to make a full recovery from his Jan. 7 ACL and LCL surgery to repair his left knee, and on Monday declared his days as an Irish football player over when he tweeted he would apply for early entry into the NFL draft.
From the video on Twitter: "Really looking forward to the future. With my decision and moving forward, I'm deciding to head to the NFL Draft."
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly on ESPN today, where he is serving as an analyst for tonight's college football playoff championship game, called Smith "one of the most dynamic football players I've coached in 25 years."
"I think he's a generational player at his position, and he'll recover fine from this. The NFL will be lucky to get a young man like this."
The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder had been projected to be a top-five pick before the damage, which he suffered when he landed awkwardly after he was shoved during the first quarter of that 44-28 loss on New Year's Day.
Reports suggested there was no nerve damage found in Smith's knee, which could have further impacted his draft value.
Still, how far he will fall remains uncertain.
"You don't know the answer," said Greg Gabriel, former Bears director of college scouting. "We just gotta wait and see.
"Somebody's gonna draft him, sign him, he's gonna be on nonfootball injury. He's gonna get paid, go through rehab and learn the system."
Smith likely will be evaluated at the NFL Combine in February, and possibly again before the draft. His future flashed before his eyes during the first quarter against Buckeyes at University of Phoenix Stadium. Smith recovered fine after Ohio State's Taylor Decker initially pushed him away from the play. Decker's subsequent shove made for an ungainly landing for Smith, whose left leg bent awkwardly and sent him in a heap to the grass.
ESPN's Darren Rovell tweeted that Smith has a $5 million loss-of-value policy he would begin to collect should he drop out of the first round.
The Fort Wayne, Ind., native won the Butkus Award this season, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. He led the Irish with 113 tackles a year after doing the same with 112.
Decker said after the game that his shove involved no malicious intent.
"My heart goes out to the guy," Decker said. "You never want to injure anybody. ... I hope he recovers well because he's going to be a hell of a player on the next level."
Smith is the fifth Notre Dame underclassmen to declare for the draft, joining running back C.J. Prosise, receiver Will Fuller, cornerback KeiVarae Russell and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley.
