Durham Smythe – May 12, 2018
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Saturday, May 12, 2018
TE Durham Smythe
(What are your thoughts on being selected in the draft where there was a fellow tight end also selected?) – “It was awesome, first and foremost, just getting the call, regardless of the situation. I was fortunate enough to be part of a great organization, so I was excited about that. I’ve played with Mike (Gesicki) before. I knew him through the whole pre-draft process. We were teammates at the Senior Bowl, so we got to know each other a little bit. We played actually in a couple of two-tight end sets together during the game and practice. He’s a guy I’ve played with before, gotten to know and overall, I was just really excited about it.”
(Did you ever have any conversation during that week of what if the two of you wind up on the same team or something to that effect?) – “Not too serious. It’s always cool getting to know guys in that process because then you kind of do have that relationship where if it were to happen, I’d have a friend or a guy that I know on the team. We didn’t have any serious talks about it; but it is pretty cool.”
(For somebody who hasn’t seen you play, can you describe your game?) – “Yes, sure. Throughout my four years at Notre Dame, I tried to be a guy who was what we called a complete tight end. We went through a few offenses in my time at Notre Dame. A couple of them were spread it out and a little bit more pass-happy, so I was in the slot a lot those years. These last two years, specifically this last year, we ran the ball a lot. We had an offensive change. It was more of a pro style this last year, so this last year I was more at the point of attack a lot. We had the best offensive line in college football, so that helped. So I’ve done a lot of roles throughout my time in college. Ultimately, I’ve just tried to combine all of those to where I can be, what we used to call, a complete tight end.”
(Who is a comparison for you, player-wise, in the NFL?) – “Well, being from Notre Dame and having that film readily available to me from past years, two guys that I watched a lot were … One, actually I told (Tight Ends) Coach (Shane) Day at the Combine, a guy that I watched a lot was Anthony Fasano. Specifically his time at Notre Dame. Obviously I would watch some of his stuff in the pros but at Notre Dame, he was a guy who wasn’t just a big receiver. He was a guy who would grind it out, in-line; but then he could split out. He could run on a deep corner or something like that. So (he was) a guy who could do a little bit of everything. Then another one was Kyle Rudolph, because he’s kind of the same way – a big guy who can play in-line but at the same time can run deep overs and things like that. He doesn’t really have to be a guy who can be taken off the field.”
(How has Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly helped you during your time at Notre Dame and how has your time at Notre Dame prepared you to be where you are right now?) – “First and foremost, Notre Dame is a special place. It’s a place that forces you to grow up pretty quickly, and I think that’s something that early on, aside from any individual, is what the university provided for me. I came in and really quickly you have to learn time management, whether it’s academics, athletics, media obligations and things like that. In that regard, I think it can be compared a little bit to the professional level. Obviously there’s no academics at this level; but time-management skills and things of that nature. Coach Kelly did a great job throughout my five years there of surrounding himself with people who could develop players. I had a couple of offensive coordinators throughout my time, a couple of position coaches, and they all developed (me). So I was happy about that. I would do the same thing over again. I would go back there because of how much was provided for me.”
(What does it take to be a good in-line tight end?) – “First and foremost, it’s the willingness to be in there, to grind it out and be able to compete with these defensive ends at this level that are 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6 and freakish athletes off the edge. We have a couple here with the Dolphins. First and foremost, it’s willingness. Then from there, it’s technique. You kind of just build from there – strength and things of that nature. It all starts with a willingness to be able to do it.”
(You didn’t have many catches last year but a lot of them were for – I think it was six out of 15 – were for 20 yards or more. What do you think accounted for that?) – “I think a little of that was attributed to our offense. We based our offensive scheme around running the ball and grinding it out. When you run the ball and there’s eight people in the box, every now and then someone can slip behind the defense and really, really extend plays. That’s something that we focused on as a tight end group was being a group there that could provide explosive plays to our offense. Whether it’s catching a ball and running after the catch, things of that nature, or breaking a tackle, that’s definitely something that we focused on.”
(Do you think despite the limited number of catches you had in college, you still were able to showcase your pass-catching abilities?) – “I think so, to a degree. Like I said, I had different roles throughout my time. I think when I had the opportunity, I tried to make the most of it. Ultimately, through this whole pre-draft process and stuff, that’s something that questions were asked about that I tried to put those questions to rest through the Senior Bowl and the Combine and things like that.”
(Can you talk about your journey to get here a little bit? When you were five years old, were you dreaming about playing in the NFL? Is this culmination for you? Just talk about the steps that led you to where you are today.) – “Well, I grew up in a small town in central Texas. Football was everything growing up. My dad played at Baylor. That was 30 minutes down the road, so my weekends went Fridays everyone goes to high school games, Saturdays we’d all go to the Baylor game and Sundays obviously we’re watching on TV. I kind of grew up around the sport for as long as I can remember. That was always the ultimate goal. I grew up a big Notre Dame fan. First and foremost, it was my goal to go play there, succeed there and then obviously get to this level. It’s something that I grew up around my entire life and something that I’ve always seen myself doing for as long as I possibly can.”
(What’s one thing about you that would surprise us? Like one story would be you saved a family of cats from a burning building. Something like that.) – “(laughter) I don’t know if I have anything that could live up to that. One thing I use a lot when I’m asked a question like that is I’m a great ping-pong player. I like to tell people that football is the second best sport for me behind ping-pong. I guess that’s something that’s kind of fun.”
(Is there a ping-pong table in the player’s lounge here?) – “Actually, I haven’t been in it yet. There is? I’ll get on that when I get in there.”
(I’ll ask you this only because we’re in Miami but your recollection of the Notre Dame-Miami game?) – “I’ll start that with my junior year we played them, and we beat them at home. (laughter) So that was good. Yes, coming down here, what an experience it was, honestly. Obviously it wasn’t a good outcome in any sense of the word; but an incredible atmosphere. We kind of expected a loud atmosphere but nothing close to what it was. That was one of the loudest stadiums I’ve played in in my five years. We had people throwing stuff at the buses driving up. Actually our window was shattered and we had to get a new bus. It was pretty crazy stuff. I enjoyed playing in the stadium. It was an awesome stadium. Like I said, the atmosphere was great. Obviously the outcome was terrible, but I did love playing in that stadium.”
(What was it about Notre Dame that attracted you as a kid considering your dad played at Baylor?) – “Both of my parents really, as I grew up, harped on finding a place that had great academics that could go with a good football program. As a kid, I knew that Notre Dame was a great school. Obviously with our NBC deal, they were playing (on national TV) every Saturday. I watched that growing up. I kind of became a little obsessed with the golden helmet, Golden Dome, thing early on. It kind of just carried from there.”
(Did it take a little while for your parents to accept you’re not going to Baylor and you’re going to Notre Dame?) – “I think my dad was easier about that whole thing. He kind of recognized early on that I had aspirations to go to a Notre Dame or something like that, that was far from home. I think it took my mom a little bit more time, a little bit more convincing. I was actually originally committed to Texas, so that was 30 minutes down the road. I ended up changing that and going to Notre Dame and I think it took a little bit of time for her distance-wise. Ultimately, it turned out pretty well.”
(And you had to sell them on this idea?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily call it selling them, because like I said, they – from a young age – really harped on the whole academic/athletic combination. They knew that was one of the best places in the country to do that. It was more of just going 1,000 miles across the country from my mom; but other than that, it was great.”
(What was your major?) – “So I majored in sociology and minored in business economics.”
(And you graduated this past year?) – “I graduated in May 2017. So this last year I was actually a non-degree-seeking graduate student and I knocked out four or five graduate-level classes that could eventually translate to a master’s degree.”
(Your first name isn’t a nod to Duke University, is it?) – “It is not. It’s a family name – my grandmother’s maiden name.”
