West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith said he had "something coming up with the Bills on the 22nd," just moments after wrapping up his college pro day on the Morgantown campus last week. That "something" Buffalobills.com has learned is a scheduled private workout.
Bills GM Buddy Nix, Assistant GM Doug Whaley and Director of Pro Personnel Tom Gibbons were all in attendance at Smith’s pro day last Thursday when he completed 62 of 65 passes.
Just over a week ago the Philadelphia Eagles, holders of the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, had Smith perform in a private workout. It's something that Smith expects to be doing a lot of over the next few weeks.
"I would expect between 10 to 12, maybe more," said Smith last week.
Private workouts cannot take place at NFL team facilities. They are typically done at the prospect's college campus or their hometown. Smith is a Miami, Florida native.
It should be noted that private workouts with prospects are not considered pre-draft visits. Pre-draft visits take place at an NFL team site only. NFL clubs are allowed to conduct 30 such pre-draft visits at their facility.
Most NFL draft analysts have tabbed Smith as the top quarterback prospect in this year's draft class. Whether he will even be on the board for Buffalo when they're on the clock with the eighth overall pick has been a topic of much debate.
Though Smith had the fastest 40 time among quarterbacks at the NFL Combine with a 4.59, the longest broad jump (10'4") and the second-highest vertical leap (33.5") the Mountaineer signal caller has been primarily a pocket quarterback.
"I can fit into any offense," said Smith. "I've played in every offense and it's something that I believe just comes with hard work. If you put your mind to it you can do it despite what type of quarterback you are or what they want to label you as or whether you're a system quarterback or not it's about production. Everyone fits into a system at some point so you've got to be able to make it work and produce and win games."
Over his last three collegiate seasons at West Virginia his completion percentage improved every year, topping out at 71.2 percent in 2012. His touchdown to interception ratio also improved each of his last three seasons culminating with an unheard of 7:1 touchdown to interception ratio in 2012 with 42 touchdowns against just six interceptions.
