Dawuane Smoot Having 'One Heck Of A Camp' In Crucial Year for Jaguars

The fourth year defensive end has come around a learning curve according to position coach Jason Rebrovich. Now he's putting together a camp that the coach says shows understanding.

Sometimes it takes a player a year, or two —or three— to fully come around the bend and reach their potential. That’s the lesson Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich has seen reinforced with Jags fourth-year defensive end Dawuane Smoot.

“Sometimes it takes some guys you know [a] learning curve and understanding what we're doing from a technique standpoint, scheme standpoint and Smoot’s doing one heck of a job.”

A third-round draft pick out of Illinois in 2017, Smoot has accumulated 39 career tackles, one fumble recovery and six sacks. The last stat all came in one season: 2019.

“He’s had substantial growth and you talk about a guy that wants to hone in on his craft—he shows up, he’s had probably a little chip on his shoulder since his rookie year until really transitioning into more of a role of a player, especially in the third down stuff that we did from a year ago, and he's having one heck of a camp,” Rebrovich told reporters on Tuesday.

Last year @Bigsmoot_94 got to the quarterback 6 times.

Coach Rebrovich is excited about his growth as a player and a leader. pic.twitter.com/OELBwSmWWd

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) August 25, 2020

It hasn’t always been a smooth journey though, or even a consistently upward rise. Rebrovich references frustrations “from a playing standpoint” and diet issues. In 2018, Smoot played in only eight games after being listed as a healthy inactive the first eight weeks. He spent the last offseason completely retooling his training in preparation for the 2019 season. He's continued that this offseason, working in martial arts. But perhaps more importantly, he's set a goal that will demand satisfaction. 

"My goal is just to do whatever I can with the reps I have," Smoot told reporters on Tuesday.

"I know I had like 38% of the snaps last year, I'm hoping to get more going into my fourth year, but all I can really do is just not really focus on that. I mean I know, I know, like, after this year I'm supposed to be for a contract and stuff like that but I don't want to get distracted by that. Right now I'm just trying to focus on being able to just go out there and make plays and that's kind of what I did last year, just trying to prove myself and make plays as much as I can so that's my goal this year that's I'm still in the same mindset." 

So much of Smoot’s progress, explains Rebrovich, is the DE’s willingness to accept the need for said progress.

“We've always sat down and had candid conversations," Rebrovich said Tuesday. 

"I think part of coaching is having a relationship with these young men, and if I can't sit down with them, no different than I'm doing with you guys, and have a candid conversation of what I see or what I believe, whether it's right or wrong, we can at least talk about it as men, and you know, that's what we did.

“Dawuane and I, we sat down on several occasions throughout his career that he's been here, and they've all been great conversations … we walk out that room and we say ‘hey man once we close that door, whatever we decided in this room, hey, that's what we're going with.’ And he's been really good at holding up that end of what we're asking him to do.”

Part of what they’re asking him to do this season is step up along with his fellow defensive linemen and lead the defense. Smoot has spent his entire career thus far in Jacksonville, and now in his fourth season with the Jags, Rebrovich sees Smoot evolving more into that role.

“On the field he’s becoming one heck of a leader, you know I mean sometimes you look at that room and…you got Abe [Abry Jones] and you know you got Josh [Allen] and Timmy Jernigan has been a real good pleasure to come in here, a guy that’s been in the league a bunch of years. 

"But Dawuane Smoot is one heck of a leader in that room. You know people listen to him, people understand what he can do and what he can bring. So, but yeah, we really enjoy what he's been doing from a defensive standpoint and then what he gives us value on third down.”

It has taken a few years, but as the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare for a season in which their defensive line will need every piece of talent it can hold on to, Jason Rebrovich can be assured that if nothing else, he will be getting a new level of play from Dawuane Smoot.