By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

When Jason Smith walks into a room, everybody can feel his presence.

Baylor’s offensive tackle is a big man with a big personality and a big work ethic.

“Hey, big time,” Baylor center J.D. Walton shouts at Smith.

“What’s up, brother-in-law?” Smith shouts back.

Smith always claims that he’s going to marry Walton’s sister. Smith keeps his teammates on their toes with his playful banter, and even Baylor’s coaches aren’t off limits to his sense of humor.

Smith does a dead-on impersonation of Baylor coach Art Briles’ habit of talking fast. When asked what’s it going to take to beat No. 1 Oklahoma this week, Smith replies with his best rapid-fire Briles.

“What’s it going to take? We’re going to have to go out here and play fast and execute. We’re going to play real, real fast. We’ll run in tempo. They’re No. 1? We’re going to get with it.”

While Smith often keeps the Bears loose, he knows when to get serious. Briles admires Smith’s work ethic, leadership skills and desire to get the most out of his ability.

That combination has made Smith the most sought-after NFL prospect from Baylor in more than a decade.

“Jason isn’t satisfied with just being good — he wants to be great,” Briles said. “The thing that really impresses us is his approach to everything he does every day. I’ve been around some great practice players, and Jason is right up there at the top. Everything he does is with a purpose. Through his leadership and actions, he backs it up.”

With a 6-foot-5, 298-pound frame and superb athleticism, Smith is projected to become Baylor’s first No. 1 draft pick since the Miami Dolphins selected defensive lineman Daryl Gardener with the 20th overall pick in 1996.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper ranks Smith as the 10th best prospect in the 2009 draft. Kiper rates Smith as the third-best offensive tackle in the draft behind Virginia’s Eugene Monroe and Mississippi’s Michael Oher.

“Jason has a passion for the game to go along with his size,” said Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland, who kicked for Baylor from 1988-91. “You’re always looking for good athletes no matter which position they are playing. Jason’s a guy who can move his feet and block the guy in front of him. He’s a good kid who works hard and has all the qualities you look for in an offensive lineman. ”

Three years ago, nobody would have guessed that Smith would be a potential first-round draft choice.

Smith was just another tight end on Baylor’s depth chart who had caught six passes for 70 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2005. Smith scored his only college touchdown on a two-yard pass from Shawn Bell in a 37-30 double-overtime loss to Oklahoma in Norman.

“I ran some routes well and some I didn’t,” Smith said. “I caught some balls well and some I didn’t. But I was big and I could block.”

When former Baylor coach Guy Morriss suggested a switch to offensive tackle before spring drills in 2006, he didn’t have to twist Smith’s arm.

“I’d rather be a fast anything than a slow something,” Smith said. “I wanted to help the team any way I could, so I said, ‘Why not?’ ”

Becoming ‘Smooth’

Nicknamed Smooth, Smith made a smooth transition to offensive tackle as he started every game as a redshirt sophomore in 2006. Despite playing just seven games last season, Smith received honorable mention all-Big 12 honors. But Smith went through some frustrating times as he missed five of seven games during one stretch with a knee injury.

“I never really was 100 percent,” Smith said. “It was a roller coaster all season.”

Coming back stronger and quicker, Smith has been a formidable presence up front this season. He’s helped the Bears average 429.8 yards and 34.2 points through four games. With 896 rushing yards, the Bears are only 38 yards short of last year’s 12-game season total.

Smith has been the anchor of a veteran offensive line that also includes senior tackle Dan Gay, junior center Walton and junior guards James Barnard and Jordan Hearvey.

“Jason’s an excellent role model for all of us,” Gay said. “He gets after it in the weight room like no one else. He’ll run with the linebackers and running backs, and has encouraged me to do it. If I’m having trouble with my blocking technique, he’ll show me the right way to do it.”

Since they’ve been around each other for so long, Baylor’s offensive linemen have one of the strongest bonds on the team. They hang around each other off the field, and go out to eat Italian food at Baris every Thursday after practice.

With his outgoing personality, Smith has never had any trouble making friends. Back at W.T. White High School in Dallas, his teachers and coaches liked him as much as his peers.

“Jason was a good student and leader and got along with teachers better than anybody,” W.T. White defensive coach Joe Boring said. “He got along great with anybody. There was something special about him.”

By his junior year of high school, Boring could tell there was something special about Smith as a football player. He played tight end and defensive end for W.T. White, and was good on both sides of the football.

“We ran the ball a lot and Jason was a good blocker, but he was also a good target as a tight end because he was tall,” Boring said. “As a defensive end, he was an aggressive, tough hitter. A lot of teams would try to stay away from Jason, but they’d run right into our other defensive end, DeMaurier Thompson (who plays at Texas A&M).”

When Smith wasn’t playing football or basketball, he was team roping in local rodeos.

“I’d rope the steer’s head and another guy would rope the feet,” Smith said. “But I was little back then — I only weighed 215 pounds. It’s funny that as a Division I athlete playing in big-time games with a lot of pressure that I don’t really get worked up. But when you sit on a horse . . .”

Smith has never forgotten his high school roots and sometimes goes back to W.T. White to speak to students about the importance of getting an education and doing the right things. He received his undergraduate degree in education from Baylor in May, and is currently working on a double major in sociology.

“A lot of kids here have kept up with Jason,” W.T. White sociology teacher Pam Day said. “They know what he’s done at Baylor and they’re proud of him. He stays close to his roots, and the kids enjoy seeing him.”

Smith said he hasn’t thought much about the NFL draft, but he’s looking forward to playing at the next level. No matter how far he goes, he always wants to give back to others —and he’ll do it with a laugh and a smile.

“I enjoy life,” Smith said. “You can’t walk around being mad all the time.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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—— BAYLOR vs. #1 OKLAHOMA ——

Kickoff: 11:40 a.m., Floyd Casey Stadium

TV: 11:30 a.m., Fox Sports Net

Radio: 11:10 a.m., KRZI-AM (1660)

Records: Baylor 2-2, Oklahoma 4-0

Series: Oklahoma leads, 17-0 (8-0 in Waco)

Last meeting: Oklahoma , 52-21 (2007, in Norman)

Betting line: Oklahoma by 27

Weather: 80 degrees and sunny