Is disappointing 1st-round pick Mazi Smith responding to tough love from Cowboys coaches?
—No one is under the microscope in Dallas Cowboys training camp more than nose tackle Mazi Smith
Sure, quarterback Trey Lance is getting a lot of attention and scrutiny because of his history as a former No. 1 pick with the San Francisco 49ers and because the Cowboys’ hopes of trying to land a future quarterback on the cheap.
Barring a major catastrophe with starting quarterback Dak Prescott and backup Cooper Rush, there are no illusions about Lance seeing any meaningful action for the Cowboys in 2024,
Unlike Smith, who has been handed a started job and needs to play well for the defense to hopefully solve its biggest woe of being suspect against the run.
After selected in the first round out of Michigan in 2023 draft, Smith was a huge disappointment as a rookie last season.
He knows he must be better. His teammates expect it.
And the Cowboys coaches are giving him as much attention in possible in hopes of coaxing that greatness out of him.
That has come in the form of hard coaching, tough love and some embarrassing commentary from hard-nosed defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina.
Consider this interaction between Zgonina and Smith during a drill from a recent practice:
“Hey! Mickey Mouse! I know Disney’s only an hour down the road —and hour and 15 with traffic. Get your fast pass! Get you (expletive) hands inside, let’s go!”
Don’t misconstrue Zgonina’s colorful words.
It’s all about fundamentals and technique. He is imploring Smith to be consistent with his hands.
He understands Smith struggles from a year ago under former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, now the head coach of the Washington Commanders.
Smith lost 30 pounds, suffered a shoulder injury and tried to do some things under Quinn that were different than what he was used to doing.
He played just four snaps in the 48-32 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers when the Cowboys got run over and run through, adding insult to a disappointing rookie season that has Smith on brink of being called a draft bust. He played just 28 percent of the plays on defense in 17 games in 2023 and recorded only 13 tackles.
The new scheme under coordinator MIke Zimmer has Smith playing a similar style and technique that he played in and flourished in at college at Michigan.
“He’s doing good. He’s learning a new style,” Zgonina said. “We’re a little bit different than they were last year. He’s learning. He’s trying new things. We’re trying to get the right fit for him. He’s doing well. He’s gotta get his conditioning going because he’s coming off the injury. But he’s in a good spot. We just gotta keep getting better and better every day, that’s why we come to training camp.”
He’s still a work in progress, but the Cowboys are pleased so far.
And Zgonina’s style is a big part of the process as well as the new scheme.
“I think we all want the directness, clear vision, responsibility of what you’re being asked to do,” McCarthy said. “Jeff gives that, and Mazi is a young player. He’s in the second defense, and they’re different foundations as far as how the techniques play so forth. So it’s important to have clear responsibility. And I think the real benefit of Jeff is he’s played and coached in every system of defense in the league the last 20 years. So he can give some real personal experience. He’s great to have for Mazi as he makes his transition from the old defense to this defense.”
And after losing weight and confidence last season, Smith taking to Zgonina like sponge.
“He’s so damn happy to be out here and be healthy,” McCarthy said. “So you can see that he’s got great energy every day. He loves the weight room, too. So he’s still working getting his weight where it needs to be. Mazi’s arrow is pointing up and he’s moving in that direction.”
He’s has no choice.
And everyone is watching.
