Jaytierney had a great comment with a You Tube link I wanted everyone to see and feel free to discuss in this thread. It's video footage from the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, when Alex Smith, Urban Meyer and Utah took Pitt behind the woodshed. Now, Pitt was a bit of a weak team in my opinion coming out of the Big East, but a BCS bowl is a BCS Bowl. Here are jaytierney's comments:
"You'll notice he has solid mechanics and his throws are extremely accurate, and they also don't have him making 7-step drops. Meyer puts him back in the shotgun with a spread offense and takes advantage of his great ability to read the field. Clearly, he has the natural ability, he just needs a good NFL mentor (paging Steve Young) and a scheme that plays to his strengths. We can draft another QB and put him in the same shitty system, but no matter who he is he'll be a bust too."
I'd love to hear what everybody else thinks. My personal opinion is a bit of a mix. He obviously can't bring that kind of QB running attack b/c NFL defenders will eat up that sort of QB. However, he made some very solid passes during that game and showed impressive accuracy.
[EDITOR'S UPDATE 11:35AM] - Newerascouting, a reader with scouting experience, has posted his thoughts on Smith in the comments. A worthy read.