College Coaches Eye Pinellas Park's Iman Smith

Iman Smith's first love is basketball. He loves it. Craves it.

Playing for the Patriots, Smith was, what Patriots football coach Ken Crawford called "a 6'2 power forward."

There aren't many colleges looking for such players.

Knowing Smith loved hoops and that Smith wanted to go to college, Crawford coaxed Smith into playing football his senior year.

Before the Patriots have even played their spring game, Smith is already getting college offers to play football.

Part of this is the result of having a stud player like Jeremi Powell on the roster. Powell has already received offers from Florida and Alabama to play. Just this week, legendary Miami assistant coach Art Kehoe was monitoring the Patriots practices.

But college coaches aren't just looking for the most obvious talents. They are also looking for hidden gems. So when coaches are eyeing stars, it gives other players a chance to show their skills before watching eyes.

That has been the case with Smith.

"Bring the noise," Smith, a linebacker, likes to say. In football terms, that means bone-crunching hits where the pop of pads and helmets can be heard in neighboring communities.

Smith is getting attention from the eyes meant for Powell in practice. This is also true for game nights. Powell is the team's right defensive end- an explosive powerful force. He will almost certainly be double-teamed most of the year and in some cases, triple-teamed.

Smith will play behind him at outside linebacker. When Powell is double- and triple-teamed, there are only so many bodies. That means it's very likely Smith may be free to roam and wreak havoc.

"I'm his wingman," Smith said of Powell. "If he doesn't get the tackles, I'll get them. That's where I come in. [Offenses] are worried about him, they're not worried about me. That's the beauty of it."

Smith has been such a find and is so athletic that Crawford may just use him as running back on occasion.

Smith is all for that.

"Anything. Anything to get on the field," Smith said. "If they want to give me touches, I'm okay with that. Any way to get on the field."

Crawford just raves about Smith.

"He's a great football player," Crawford said. "The good thing about kids [like Smith] is they want to compete and that's wonderful. He is so coachable."