Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh is happy to hear that rookie wideout Torrey Smith is expecting to be on the field in Week 1.
Smith has said many times that he’s going to be ready to play with the big boys, and Harbaugh chalks that up to youthful exuberance.
“I expect him to expect that and I would be disappointed if he didn’t expect that,” Harbaugh said in a recent interview with 1090 WBAL Radio. “Like everybody else, Torrey’s going to have to earn his stripes, earn his spot. He’s going to compete for everything he gets, and that’s why we drafted him. I think he’s that kind of guy.
“I think what he’s saying is that he’s going to go out there and do everything he can to earn as much playing time as he can.”
Such enthusiasm also makes quarterback Joe Flacco smile. He may have only had two encounters with Smith, but Flacco thinks the Ravens’ second-round draft pick has the goods to succeed soon.
And it begins with Smith’s attitude.
“Torrey’s an awesome kid. You can see the work ethic and his eagerness to get out there and get started,” Flacco said in a separate interview with WBAL. “From the questions he has about the playbook, it seems like that. That’s the kind of stuff I look for besides the fact that he obviously is gifted with his speed and hands.
“When it comes down to it, you have to be willing to work hard and really want to spend time doing it, to learn the offense and perfect everything. I think he has that in him, and it’s exciting to see.”
Flacco first worked with Smith at the Ravens’ players-only camp at Towson University in late May. He intensified the session by staying at a hotel with Smith and fellow offensive rookies Tandon Doss and Tyrod Taylor to offer classroom-style instruction.
Then in June, Smith tweeted about another workout with Flacco, this time in the quarterback’s home of New Jersey.
