As Jets second-round draft pick Geno Smith was put through the wringer of withering media scrutiny over the last couple weeks, one of the stories making the rounds was that Smith acted like a “diva” in meetings with NFL coaches. Jets coach Rex Ryan says he has no idea where that came from.
“Maybe I don’t know what diva behavior looks like, but he certainly didn’t do it here,” Ryan said after Smith had his first rookie minicamp practice today. “He’s a football player that you can tell loved the game, very knowledgeable about his system. I never saw that at all.”
Ryan says the Jets researched Smith’s college career and found that he was known for being a good student of the game and a good team leader.
“Anybody that you talk to at West Virginia will tell you that,” Ryan said. “He knew it. He studied it more. He prepared harder than anybody. That’s all, just be himself, that’s the big thing, he already knows how to do it. This guy has been playing quarterback and [has been] the leader of his football team for a number of years.”
On the practice field Friday, Ryan liked the way Smith carried himself.
“You kind of listen to the huddle, all that type of stuff,” Ryan said. “Some guys can’t spit it out, [Smith] certainly can. Those are things you look at, the way he conducts himself, eyes up, all that type of stuff.”
Whatever Smith might have done to turn off coaches on 31 other teams doesn’t matter now. On the Jets, his coach likes him just fine.