The young turk has become the tribal elder.
Fred Smoot, the smack-talking locker room jokester, didn’t berate rookie Kevin Barnes during minicamp when the latter mentioned Smoot was getting old. In the old days, Smoot would have skewered Barnes with non-stop taunts that sent teammates scurrying in past years.
Smoot is the old man in the secondary as the Washington Redskins continue OTAs on Monday. He turned 30 in April, a milestone when speed starts to fade and coaches start looking for fresh legs like Barnes. A 2001 second-rounder, Smoot is now a third wheel that’s still valued during multi-receiver sets. He’s working harder in the offseason weight room to keep from suddenly fading away.
“I still think I’m young,” Smoot said. “I feel just like yesterday I came in as a rookie and now I’m the old guy. I’m not old. No gray [hair]. I have a young heart. I’m going to be a Redskin for a long time.
“I’m just going to hope I can keep my body well. I don’t judge myself by other DBs. I judge myself by the standard of when I came in as a rookie — Darrell Green. He played until he was 42. He taught me how to keep my body good, how to keep my mind young, how to keep my soul young.”
Smoot may be following Green’s style of lecturing rookies in the classroom rather than challenging them in the locker room. Smoot throws verbal daggers like a ninja, though.
Few challenge Smoot in the corner where he holds court. Michael Westbrook once tried. So did Mike Sellers. Anybody who thinks they’re quick witted tries Smoot and leaves lacking as a small crowd usually watches.
“With DBs, it’s in our nature,” he said. “I was a loudmouth when I came in.”
Still, Barnes escaping from being berated for his innocent remark that Smoot was getting older was a surprise. Maybe it’s a setup for training camp when Smoot has a full-time target to torment.
Meanwhile, eight seasons has made Smoot wiser one more way — he can smell a play coming his way.
“I can look plays and game and tell what’s going to happen before it happens,” Smoot said. “Football is a learning process. I think that’s why coaches still have a love for it because even at age 50 they’ll learn little things.”
Like don’t tease the lion of the locker room.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
