The NFL lockout was tough enough to get through for NFL fans, but it truly tested the patience of Derrell Smith. The former SU linebacker was not picked in the NFL draft, forcing him to wait for the lockout to be solved before he could sign with an NFL team. The very first morning free agents could sign, Smith put pen to paper and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, over a week into training camp, Smith says the reality of it all still hasn't sunk in.
"I'm still is shock that I'm actually playing against NFL football players right now," says Smith, "it is surreal. If you had asked me three years ago if I'd be in a hotel room at an NFL camp I would have said I doubt it, you know, but I'm just blessed to be here and I'm looking forward to maybe making the team."
Smith says he's happy with what he's been able to show the Bucs coaching staff so far, but as an undrafted free agent he's even more happy that the team has so much faith in him.
"When I got into the building in Tampa, the Head Coach and also the General Manager came up to me and knew my name, knew my first and last name, remembered me from the combine, so that was a blessing. That's the way I feel about it right now, I'm just looking at it as a blessing and taking it one day at a time."
Click on the video link to hear from Derrell Smith.
