Steve Smith is invested in our nation's youth. He's not so hot on mouthy rookies.
At his football camp Friday, the Carolina Panthers wideout dished out a private lesson to first-year cornerback Josh Norman out of Coastal Carolina. The fifth-round pick went on record this week suggesting he went toe-to-toe with Smith in organized team activities and minicamp.
"He'd throw his hands in the air. He'd have a couple words," Norman told Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer.
Smith cozied up to the mic and set the record straight.
"For a young guy, he's coming out and he's playing well. But as far as how much swagger and he loves to compete, I look at it like all the other veterans -- May and June you just kind of cruise a little bit just to get through," Smith told Person.
"Once late July, August comes, he's going to learn very quickly this isn't Coastal Carolina. I look forward to camp. I hope he looks forward to camp, just like all the other DBs because the first week is never a good day for them when we've got this offense with (offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski). It's going to be early and often and real quick."
Smith, we'd like to point out, has a long history of dropping defensive backs to the mat, including teammates (read: Ken Lucas). Besides, we'll take it: Smith vs. Norman has just rocketed onto our top five camp battles list. Everybody wins.
