Latest tight end standout won't have Lewis as his QB Latest tight end standout won't have Lewis as his QB (October 25, 2002)

By Rick Eymer

Alex Smith's role with the Stanford football team became clear the minute Darin Naatjes signed a professional baseball contract with the Philadelphia Phillies over the summer.

Naatjes, who decided on a pitching career, would have been one of the top two tight ends on the gridiron along with Brett Pierce.

Smith, a redshirt sophomore whose father Edwin played for the Denver Broncos in the 70s, suddenly found himself on the depth chart.

Pierce then sustained a knee injury against Boston College that ended his season. Smith was thrust into a starring role at tight end.

He hasn't disappointed. In Stanford's 16-6 victory over Arizona last week, Smith caught eight passes for 120 yards and scored the game's only touchdown.

"A lot of matchups worked to our favor," Smith said of his game against the Wildcats. "We saw we had the chance and I was ready. I feel like I can do that every time."

Smith gets another opportunity when Stanford (1-2 in the Pac-10, 2-4 overall) travels to the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA (1-2, 4-3) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. It is the Bruins' homecoming game.

"He feels much more comfortable running his routes," said Stanford coach Buddy Teevens. "He's also catching the ball well."

Smith won't have Chris Lewis throwing to him this week, however, as Lewis has been declared out of action because of a shoulder injury he suffered against the Wildcats. Kyle Matter, who took over Lewis in the fourth quarter last week, will make his second start of the season, and of his career.

"Kyle is not an unknown commodity any longer," said Teevens. "He's continued to improve and has taken more reps during practice."

Senior offensive guard Paul Weinacht will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, and will undergo surgery. Junior Dustin Stimson will replace Weinacht, though freshman Brian Head is also expected to see action.

Because of the injury situation at tight end, Stanford also moved defensive end Will Svitek back to tight end. Svitek came to Stanford as a tight end but was moved to the defensive side of the ball prior to the 2001 season.

Having grown up in Denver, Smith was a big fan of former Cardinal great John Elway and Broncos' tight end Shannon Sharpe.

"I watched (Sharpe) a lot," Smith said. "He was one of the greatest tight ends ever."

Smith said he met Elway because of his father's connection with the team, but that Elway wasn't a big factor in his choosing Stanford.

"It was just the combination of academics and athletics," he said.

Smith also said that while Naatjes' signing with the Phillies came as a big shock, he knew he had to prepare himself to step up at tight end.

"Even then I knew we would be using a lot of two tight end sets," said Smith. "I knew there would be some stiff competition through the spring."

Smith remains friends with Naatjes, who plans to graduate from Stanford in March. The two have spoken several times this fall.

The injury to Pierce forced Smith into a starting role.

"It was like I grew up a lot faster," he said. "I went from not playing to stepping right in there. After the first game I was pretty comfortable."

Smith said the team is also getting used to the new offense Teevens began installing last spring.

"When they first came in, they threw everything at us to see how we would respond," said Smith. "Now we're simplified the offense a lot more and concentrated on the things we do well."

Running the ball and throwing to the tight end are two things the Cardinal have learned how to do well.

"The way we took care of the ball against Arizona was a step forward," said Smith. "People are starting to take notice we're heading in the right direction. We just need to continue progressing."

Stanford is facing a Bruins team which began the season with high hopes, and who were ranked No. 20 in the nation in mid-September. UCLA began the year 4-1 before losing its last two games to Pac-10 rivals Oregon and Cal.

Since then, UCLA lost two quarterbacks, including four-year starter Cory Paus, and could be using redshirt freshman John Sciarra against the Cardinal. The Bruins other choice is freshman Matt Moore.

Like Stanford, UCLA is a relatively young team. Freshman Tyler Ebell starts in the backfield and ranks sixth in the conference in rushing.