It's D'Anthony Smith's time

Free agency has brought changes to the defensive tackle position for the Jaguars. Nate Collins will not be resigned after being arrested this off season on possession of marijuana charges. Leger Douzable has been signed by the Titans. All the while Jaguars defensive tackle D'Anthony Smith has been quietly waiting for his chance to make a name for himself. Who is D'Anthony Smith you ask? To answer this question we take you back to the 2010 NFL draft. Two season's ago the Jaguars used their 3rd round pick on a Louisiana Tech defensive tackle who wound up spending his rookie season on  injured reserve do to an Achilles tendon tear. Smith was a number 11 ranked tackle by Rivals.com who's career started as a bust during training camp when he was placed on IR. The 2011 season was no better when he once again wound up on IR after another injury despite showing flashes of greatness in some preseason games. Now its 2012, the players that were brought in to fill his position are gone. Now is Smith's time to rise and prove that the selection was worth it. GM Gene seems to think it was worth the selection per an article written by Jaguars.com senior writer John Osher.

His stats during his time at Louisiana Tech show us a glimpse of what he could have done during his rookie and sophomore seasons with the Jaguars. D'Anthony Smith College Bio We never got to see that how ever because of Smith never made it out of camp or preseason with injuries. Now in his third year with the Jaguars its make or break time for Smith. He has the vote of confidence from the Jaguars General Manager, Gene Smith. At 23 and having not played any but a few preseason games you might as well say that the 2012 season is pretty much D'Anthony's rookie season. He's familiar with Mel Tucker's defensive schemes but has yet to see any real action to show what he can really do. I hope that he's ready to do work this season because the number 95 jersey has been waiting two years to be seen on the turf at Everbank Field.