Smith also weighed in on the physicality in practices and scrimmages.
“You can tell if you’re watching there’s a lot of hitting going on,” he said. “We weren’t hitting as much last year, weren’t tackling as much during spring last year. It’s very different.
“We needed more physicality on the defensive and offensive side because we weren’t hitting as much. Being able to take hits and get tackled in practice (helps for games).”
Smith said during the first scrimmage “the energy was way different” compared to last year and that the team is playing to the whistle.
“We don’t get touched and just be down in full pads (like in the past),” Smith said.
“You can tell if you’re watching there’s a lot of hitting going on,” he said. “We weren’t hitting as much last year, weren’t tackling as much during spring last year. It’s very different.
“We needed more physicality on the defensive and offensive side because we weren’t hitting as much. Being able to take hits and get tackled in practice (helps for games).”
Smith said during the first scrimmage “the energy was way different” compared to last year and that the team is playing to the whistle.
“We don’t get touched and just be down in full pads (like in the past),” Smith said.
