Going undrafted leads Smith to ideal spot
Wide receiver spurns offers from several clubs on way to NRG
Inside a room filled with family and friends in Columbia, S.C., speedy wide receiver Vyncint Smith was constantly answering his telephone.
His agent, Adam Seifer, was fielding a ton of calls from NFL teams.
The scouts, coaches and executives were in a big-time recruiting mode, all intent on landing a prized free agent if he didn’t get drafted.
The calls started Saturday morning during the final day of the NFL draft with the majority of the 32 franchises making contact.
Teams were intrigued about acquiring a 6-3, 195-pound athlete who played at Limestone College, a Division II program in South Carolina. Smith was timed in the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the South Carolina pro day with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick among the NFL brass taking notice of him.
It was a whirlwind of activity during what Texans general manager Brian Gaine called the eighth round of the draft.
For players like Smith who were graded highly enough that teams considered drafting him in the later rounds, they have a difficult decision to make and not much time to contemplate their options.
There’s a lot to consider as they make a fast analysis of depth charts, schemes, gauging their personal interaction with NFL teams and, of course, how much money are the teams willing to pay for their services as an undrafted free agent.
Smith ultimately chose the Texans, agreeing to a contract that included $35,000 in guaranteed money in the form of a $10,000 signing bonus and a $25,000 guaranteed portion of his base salary for his rookie year.
Smith chose the Texans over several suitors, including the Bears, Giants, Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Bills.
Smith had visited the Texans and felt good about his conversations with Gaine and receivers coach John Perry. He felt like there was a prime opportunity to compete for a roster spot as an outside receiver behind starters DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.
“Mr. Gaine had talked to me on Friday to let me know I was high on their list and I should keep them high on my list if they weren’t able to get me in the draft,” Smith said. “Coach Perry had talked me during and after the draft. They called during the sixth round and told me in the seventh round they were going with someone else (San Jose State cornerback Jermaine Kelly). At the beginning of the seventh round, we started negotiating.
“It was an easy decision talking to Mr. Gaine. He was telling me they have Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins on the outside but don’t have it solidified behind them. I feel like I could make a splash. I knew they were my best fit if I didn’t get picked up in the draft. The process ran real smooth.”
‘No’ to former coach
Seifer was convinced that Smith would be drafted based on what teams were telling him before and during the draft.
“I told some teams, he’s not getting to free agency and you need to draft him if you want him,” Seifer said. “He was in play for the Texans as a potential draft pick. Brian Gaine personally called me to talk him out of going to the Bears. It made it easier when the Bears used their seventh-round pick on another receiver. Vyncint definitely felt a lot of love during the process from the Texans. I felt like they were the right call for him.”
It was tough, though, for Smith to tell the Bears no. Bears receivers coach Mike Furrey was his head coach at Limestone and had tried hard to talk his former player into joining him in Chicago.
As an all-conference selection, Smith caught 49 passes for 849 yards and three touchdowns last season. As a junior, he caught 44 passes for a thenschool record 709 yards and four touchdowns. For his career, he has caught 153 passes for 2,371 yards and 11 scores. Playing for Furrey, a former Detroit Lions wide receiver, had been an excellent collaboration.
“Nobody in the NFL knows me better than him,” Smith said. “It was tough telling him, but my best opportunity was in Houston. I hadn’t talked much to the Bears’ coaches or their GM. They have a lot of receivers.”
Before the draft, Smith visited the New York Jets and worked out privately for the Atlanta Falcons, Lions and Cowboys. He had private meetings with the Vikings, 49ers, Chargers, Ravens and Seahawks.
His visit with the Texans stood out, though. He met with Perry and Gaine and took a physical
“Brian Gaine said they have criteria of what type of receivers they need as far as athleticism,” Smith said. “They’re looking for guys over 6 feet who run a 4.4. I check the box on everything they’re looking to check off. Gaine is a really nice guy, a great guy. I had an excellent visit.”
Smith liked the Texans’ training facility at NRG Stadium.
He also was pleased that the roster is populated by plenty of former Clemson and South Carolina players, including Deshaun Watson, Hopkins, Bruce Ellington and Jadeveon Clowney.
“Everybody was really nice when I was there, I felt that Southern hospitality,” Smith said. “I felt like I should fit right in with their locker room. I’m happy I’m a Texan. I have this great opportunity. Now, it’s up to me to make the most out of it and show them what I can do in the NFL.”
Diamonds in the rough
Besides adding Smith, the Texans also have reached freeagent deals with the following undrafted rookies: Fordham offensive tackle Anthony Coyle, Maryland defensive lineman Kingsley Opara, Toledo running back Terry Swanson, Washington running back Davin Coleman, SMU defensive end Mason Gentry, Georgia outside linebacker Davin Bellamy and Pittsburgh wide receiver Jester Weah, Pittsburgh offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith, Florida State defensive end Jalen Wilkerson, San Jose State cornerback Andre Chachere, Tennessee punter Trevor Daniel and LSU offensive tackle K.J. Malone.
Like their NFL colleagues, the Texans take the undrafted process very seriously.
It’s how they’ve acquired talent in the past, including Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster, Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Weeks, kicker Kai’imi Fairbairn, defensive end Joel Heath and linebacker Dylan Cole, among others.
“Critically important,” Gaine said. “I call that the eighth round; (it) extends the draft. We spend a lot of time on that through the winter and through the spring. We’re hopeful that we’ll get some additional pieces here that have a chance to make our team.”