Torrey Smith was quite a nice surprise for the Ravens last year. After a shaky preseason, in which he had several drops before catching his first pass, he became one of the teams most dangerous targets along with their best deep threat.
Smith just came off of a double hernia surgery but says he feels as good as new. He even said he feels better than he did during the 2011 season. Smith tested himself by playing basketball and says he is 100%.
"I played in my basketball game and had like five dunks. I played in Anquan's and had like five dunks," said Smith who was at Ray Rice Day today at Calvert Hall. "I'm good to go. I'll be doing everything."
That’s great news for the Ravens who need the speedy wide receiver to improve on his impressive rookie season in which he caught 50 balls for 841 yards and seven touchdowns and then added another touchdown in the Ravens’ AFC championship game loss to the New England Patriots.
The Ravens were ecstatic when Smith was still around in the second round of last years draft. In Smith they saw their number one receiver of the future. He has all the talent necessary to be one of the leagues top players. For Smith it is all about catching up mentally and learning the intricacies of the game at it's highest level.
In a recent interview with the Baltimore Sun He showed that he is starting to understand the game and what he needs to do to reach his highest potential.
"The biggest thing that helped my game is being consistent," said Smith, a second-round pick in the 2011 draft. "I've got a lot of growing to do. This is going to be my fifth season playing receiver now, so I'm still learning each and every day. For me in order to take the next step, it's just being consistent, making the simple plays and just being consistent in my technique, being consistent catching the ball, everything.
"I'm confident in everything. It's all about technique. Luckily, I got a great receiver coach in coach [Jim Hostler] and to see the progress I was able to make in 20 weeks, I can only imagine what it's going to be like this off season because I came right out there and I looked better than I did all of last year and I had surgery. So, I'm excited about that. Coach [Hostler] is one of the best. I'm lucky to be able to learn from him."
At this point in his career I think he is ahead of the curve. Torrey Smith isn't one of those guys that is going to get suspended for losing control on or off the field. He has a good head on his shoulders and looks to have a very bright future. Smith knows he is being groomed to be the number one and even at his early age he is aware of the importance of helping his teammates grow and learn with him.
"I think we can do great things," Smith said. "I think for us, we're all here now working hard. We need to be ready for [quarterback Joe Flacco] and be reliable for Joe. Obviously, it's 50-50 between the offense and defense, but I think the better we do on offense, I think we can go far."