The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Stephen Dockery

Beth Israel Medical Center will always be there, but right now Taj Smith isn't focused on any backup plans.

He's hunched over, catching his breath inside a dimly lit Manley Field House on a weekday afternoon, before the other Syracuse teams spill in and congest the former SU wide receiver's workout space.

Thousands of miles away, prospects mold NFL-ready physiques in cushy Arizona or Florida retreats with professional staffs, five-star facilities, Plex programs and hyperbaric chambers. Others flash bowl-game credentials, championship rings and household names as advertisements for a promise at the next level.

Smith grabs his jump rope and begins on another set, with nobody helping, nobody watching and no chambers. There are about a dozen others ambling through their own routines in the gym. But they hardly notice when Smith sprints another full lap around the track, his black Dri-Fit NFL Combine T-shirt trying to keep up with the rest of him.

The NFL Draft looms large on the horizon three weeks away, and Smith's been working out, daily, in hopes he may hear his name as one of the 223 players selected by an NFL team.

It's been more than three months since he announced he was leaving Syracuse early to jump to professional football. Due to graduate in May, Smith has spent five years in college (he transferred to Syracuse from Bakersfield (Calif.) Junior College in 2006), and despite having one more year of eligibility left, he decided he was ready to turn the page.

"I've been in school for five years, and I'm pretty much exhausted by the whole situation," Smith said. "I'm finishing up in May so I wanted to take the chance and go after my dream and see how far I can go with it."

Since that decision, there's been criticism and disapproval from SU fans, all of which Smith has heard. And all of which Smith has used to motivate him through his routines in Manley Field House, in hopes of answering the same question his detractors have posed: Why?

Why, after a solid - if not dubious - 2007 season, in which Smith finished second on the team with 822 receiving yards and second in the Big East at 18.7 yards per catch. Why, when at times he looked like a dominant playmaker, and other times like a lost and unfocused freshman, dropping passes and sinking into defenses.

Why, since Syracuse's 6-18 record the past two seasons drew snickers from Smith's own peers at the NFL Combine in February and couldn't possibly help a wide receiver trying to get noticed amongst the nation's elite.

Continued...

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