May 10, 2013; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith (7) during New York Jets rookie minicamp at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Geno Smith got 99 problems, but an agent ain’t one. At least for the time being that is.

In the past few days, the rumor mill has picked up steam with talk that Geno Smith is seriously considering hiring Jay-Z and his newly founded talent agency Roc Nation as his marketing agency. Roc Nation cannot negotiate the football contract between Geno Smith and the New York Jets due to not being certified by the NFLPA.

The story is really gaining momentum, especially with Geno uploading photos to instagram of the Jets quarterback and the music mogul.

FWIW, here’s the instagram Geno Smith posted of him and Jay-Z. 828 likes? Not bad. twitter.com/SethWalderNYDN…

— Seth Walder (@SethWalderNYDN) May 15, 2013

There are pro and cons to hiring Jay-Z to represent Smith in all things not football. Chief among them are that Jay-Z brings a major personality to marketing. Everybody in the key marketing demographic of 18-35 knows who Jay-Z is. He has his hands in music, television, apparel, and even the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets.

If nothing else, the involvement of Jay-Z in Geno Smith’s endorsement deals will create a lot of positive media buzz, especially with younger people that are your cash cows for merchandising.

Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Geno Smith (West Virginia) is introduced as the number thirty-ninth overall pick to the New York Jets during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

It only took four days for Geno Smith to join the New York Jets media circus.

Today, multiple sources were reporting that Geno Smith has fired his agent and the Select Sports Group. The view of this move is almost unanimous in the opinion that Smith fired his representation out of spite for falling into the second round of the NFL draft.

But as Smith told Sirius Radio, the move has nothing to do with his frustrating first round ordeal:

“I don’t want to shed too much light on it,” he said. “The thing that I can tell you is that it’s not because of the whole draft experience. It’s not because of one particular incident. There’s a number of things. And that story, you know, that battle will be fought on a different day. As of right now, I don’t feel too comfortable talking about all the details of it.”

Whether Smith actually fired his agency due to a fall in the NFL draft or not is irrelevant at this point. He has given the New York media ammunition in their battle on his character.

Since the night of the first round, Smith has been subjected to a character debate in the national media over whether he has the mental toughness to handle the rigors of playing quarterback, let alone playing quarterback for one of the most disgruntled fanbases in the NFL.

From the first round face palming fiasco of this past Thursday, to the Tim Tebow release yesterday, to Smith now firing his agent today, the New York Jets quarterback situation has turned into a three ring circus. At the center of that circus now is Geno Smith. Mark Sanchez has all of a sudden become a forgotten punching bag in this whole scenario.

Geno Smith’s timing of firing his agent could not have come at a worse time. He has already had to deal with character debate stemming from the overly critical scouting evaluation of Nolan Nawrocki. This is one more piece of “evidence” that will be used against him in the New York court of public appeal.

He can say all the right things and do all the right things, but until he takes the field this fall, he will have to live up to impossible standards demanded of a star in New York. The best thing Geno can do is to keep his name out of the tabloids and stay focused on preparing himself to compete for the starting quarterback job.

The Jets circus, especially around the quarterback position is out of his control, but he can at least shift the spotlight and the associated media attacks from himself by focusing on his off-season conditioning and not on the character attacks. Even without Geno making headlines, the New York media will have plenty to write about given how dysfunctional the Jets are these days.

As they say in show business, “the show must go on.”

Sep 1, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) reacts after a touchdown in the first quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Finally, after seeing a run on offensive and defensive lineman and watching fellow Mountaineer great Tavon Austin come off the board in the first round, West Virginia’s great quarterback was selected 39th overall by the New York Jets in the second round of the NFL draft.

Smith had to wait quite sometime to hear his named called as the predicted trend of a run on trench players (offensive and defensive lineman) came to fruition. That trend pushed Geno Smith out of the top end of the draft and into perfect position for the Jets to snag him at the top of the second round.

Both the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets had interest in Geno Smith at picks #12 and #13 but opted to select defensive players instead. Even with the Raiders and Jets passing on him, nobody thought that the Bills would allow him to slide past them at #16.

What was so surprising was that E.J. Manuel of the Florida State Seminoles was selected at #16 overall by the Buffalo Bills. Manuel was widely regarded as the 4th best quarterback by most scouts behind Smith, Barkley, and Nassib. Questionable move by the Buffalo Bills at best.

With the Bills pick now come and gone, there were no franchises left in the first round that would have interest in selecting a quarterback, allowing Geno Smith to free fall into the second round.

All the while, ESPN and NFL Network were shoving a camera in Smith’s face to document his anguish. Smith, who originally vowed to not return to Radio City Music Hall last night, recanted that statement and appeared at the podium to hug Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The move by the New York Jets to draft Geno Smith is the first step in the rebuilding process for the franchise and officially puts an end to the Mark Sanchez/Tim Tebow experiment.

It is not all roses for Geno though. The Jets roster is pretty bare as far as offensive talent goes. Outside of Santonio Holmes at wide receiver, this team lacks all weapons. The Jets will need to gather a lot of weapons to give Geno the opportunity to excel in New York. Hopefully the Jets will allow Sanchez to flounder this coming year and allow Smith to learn the offense for a year.

Even with Geno Smith’s slide to the 39th overall selection, he is still the highest drafted West Virginia quarterback of all-time. He is also the second Mountaineer to be drafted in the 2013 NFL Draft.

January 4, 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) hoists his MVP trophy after his team defeated the Clemson Tigers 70 to 33 in the 2012 Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

After watching his draft stock painfully plummet last night, Geno Smith will now get to see teams literally bowl each other over to pick him at the top of the second round tonight.

Reports from ESPN indicate that the New York Jets are attempting to trade up from the #39 spot tonight into the top three picks of the second round to take Geno Smith. The Jets supposedly debated about taking Geno Smith with the #13 pick in the first round before gambling on him falling into the second round.

Now, the Jets need to make a strong push to trade up ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles at #35 who are reportedly very interested in Geno Smith. New coach Chip Kelly is looking for a player of Smith’s caliber to run his high tempo, pass happy offense.

But moving ahead of Philadelphia still might not be enough for the Eagles to secure Geno Smith. CBS Sports’ reporter Jason La Canfora reports that the Jacksonville Jaguars are eyeing a quarterback with the first pick in tonight’s second round. It is still unknown whether the Jaguars favor USC’s Matt Barkley or WVU’s Geno Smith, but he feels certain that the Jaguars will put an end to the Blaine Gabbert era just after 6:30 EDT tonight.

La Canfora also mentions that the Oakland Raiders were interested at Geno Smith at #12 and still hold interest in him should he fall to their second round pick at #42.

Odds are, the way teams are lining up to fight about Geno, he will be off the board by no later than 7:00 EDT tonight. But as we saw last night, you are never quite sure what the draft has in store.

Oct 13, 2012; Lubbock, TX, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) warms up before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Jones AT

With the first round beginning to wind down, the odds of Geno Smith being selected in the first round are dwindling. While Geno waits patiently in the green room at Radio City Music Hall, WVU players past and present have been tweeting their support of him and providing words of encouragement.

You got the whole state of WV behind you nobody else matters! #WVU #GenoSmith

— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) April 26, 2013

Like my bro @sdot_berry said, Geno gonna end up where god planned him to, and he will be out to prove a lot of people wrong #NFLDraft — Julian Miller (@JmillzHot97) April 26, 2013

I love it though! G is going to end up exactly where he needs to be and bet ya bottom dollar he’ll have a huge chip on his shoulder #beware — Scooter Berry (@Sdot_Berry) April 26, 2013

Probably the most encouraging tweet of the night has come from a non-West Virginia Mountaineer who has been in his exact predicament:

Hang in there Geno, “good things come to those who wait” -Paul Tagliabue

— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) April 26, 2013

 

Needless to say, Geno Smith is going to be out to prove so many teams wrong for letting him slide this far in the NFL Draft. As if a quality character guy like Geno Smith needed any further motivation!

With that said, WVU’s draft history is not exactly on par with the likes of USC, Miami, and Alabama, but the Mountaineers draft history is still rich. To date, West Virginia has produced 9 first round draft selections.

If polled, Mountaineer fans might draw a blank as to who those first round selections are. They do not include greats like Sam Huff (2nd round), Darryl Talley (2nd round), Ira Rodgers (no draft at that time), or Pat White (2nd round).

So who are the highest draft Mountaineer prospects of all time? Let’s count them down!

10. Geno Smith/Tavon Austin – TBD, 2013

Oct 6, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) points to running back Tavon Austin (1) after winning the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. West Virginia beat Texas 48-45. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

No matter what mock draft you have been looking at, it is a virtual guarantee that at least one Mountaineer player will be drafted in the first round of the draft tonight. There is even a significant chance that both Geno Smith and Tavon Austin will go in the first round of the draft tonight.

Austin is projected as high as a top 10 selection and Geno Smith is projected anywhere from the top 10 to the top of the 2nd round. Depending on how the picks fall, these two Mountaineer greats could be in a race for the top Mountaineer draft pick of 2013.

I could just see Tavon and Geno rushing to the podium like this scene from Talladega Nights:

September 29, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) drops back to pass in the first quarter in the game against the Baylor Bears at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Christy-USA TODAY Sports

Multiple outlets have reported today that the Buffalo Bills are apparently targeting former USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley, as high as the first round with the #8 pick.

The popular speculation over the past few weeks has centered around the Bills targeting former Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib in the second round of the draft to reunite him with his former college coach Doug Marrone.

The latest reports that the Bills could go with Barkley at #8 begs the question: what does that mean for West Virginia star Geno Smith?

There are two ways to look at this news: 1) Geno Smith is rated lower on the Bills draft board than Barkley; or 2) the Bills expect Geno Smith to be taken prior to #8.

The first scenario, suggesting that Geno Smith would be rated lower than Matt Barkley is possible but rather unlikely. This quarterback class has been marginalized by every scouting outlet in the country, but 99% of these scouts agree that Geno Smith is the cream of the quarterback crop. If Geno is available at #8, the Bills would be drafting Barkley more for his experience running a pro-style offense than pure talent. That is the only way Barkley beats out Geno Smith on any draft board.

The second scenario is the more intriguing one for Mountaineers fans. We have heard repeatedly the past few weeks that the teams at the top of the draft, while all needing to find a young quarterback to build for the long-term future of their franchises, are likely to pass on selecting a quarterback until the second round. With Buffalo putting out the news that they like Barkley at #8, who is widely regarded as the second best quarterback prospect, suggests that Geno Smith would be going in the top seven picks. Of those seven teams, six need to find long-term quarterback solutions.

The Kansas City Chiefs will likely select a tackle at #1, but there are four teams with new GMs and/or coaches that could be looking to change their quarterback. Both the Jacksonville Jaguars at #2, the Philadelphia Eagles at #4, the Cleveland Browns at #6, and the Arizona Cardinals at #7 could all be suitors for Geno Smith. All four teams have subpar quarterbacks returning this season, quarterbacks brought in by a previous regime and not “the guy” for the current regime.

November 18, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert (11) reacts after a play during the first quarter against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Of those four, the most likely option for Geno Smith would be the Jacksonville Jaguars. New owner, new coach, and new unbelievably hideous uniforms, why not add new quarterback to that mix?

Blaine Gabbert is just not working out. In two seasons in North Florida, he has completed a pedestrian 53.9% of his passes for 3,876 yards, 21 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, and 8 fumbles. Things have gotten so bad for Gabbert, that he could not hold onto the starting job against a washed up Chad Henne.

With all the changes this off-season, the Jaguars might as well go all the way and change the face of the franchise and draft Geno Smith at #2.

That is, they should draft Geno Smith if they do not want to risk possibly losing him (or Matt Barkley) to the Buffalo Bills at #8.

October 8, 2011; Morgantown,WV, USA: West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (rear) celebrates with receiver Stedman Bailey (3) after the pair connected for their second touchdown of the game against the Connecticut Huskies during the fourth quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium.WVU won 43-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

It is well known that two of the most talented Mountaineers in program history are going to be on hand during the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, but few are aware that a third Mountaineer alumnus will be on hand during next Thursday’s event.

Both former Mountaineers teammates Geno Smith and Tavon Austin where invited to attend the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft in New York City next week. Smith and Austin  are likely to be selected in the top half of the first round of the draft.

While many were already aware of Smith’s and Austin’s invitations to the opening night of the NFL draft, few knew that Geno Smith plans to bring his other favorite West Virginia wide receiving target, Stedman Bailey, as his guest to the first round.

Geno Smith will bring high school, college teammate Stedman Bailey to the draft wp.me/p14QSB-8f1J

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 15, 2013

The fact that Geno has elected to bring Bailey with him to the prime time event in NYC is a sign of the bond that Bailey and Smith have shared going back to their days under the Friday night lights of Miramar High School. By allowing Bailey to join him for the marquee event, Smith is giving his former Mountaineer teammate the opportunity to gain better national exposure.

The classy move by Smith also brings additional spotlight to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program, something that prospective 2014 recruits will surely take note of when watching the draft coverage.

You can see WVU stars Smith, Austin, and Bailey together one last time at the 2013 NFL Draft first round, set to air on ESPN April 25 at 8 PM.

September 22, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) passes against the Maryland Terrapins during the third quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

NFL general managers at the top of the draft have been playing musical chairs with their quarterbacks in recent days.

We have witnessed the Seattle Seahawks shipping Matt Flynn to the Oakland Raiders, who in turned pawned off discontent Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals, who were more than happy to get rid of the albatross formerly known as Kevin Kolb to the Buffalo Bills.

Let us also not forget that the San Francisco 49ers sent Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles kept Michael Vick.

Mar 13, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey (right), quarterback Alex Smith (center), and head coach Andy Reid pose for photos during the press conference at The University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

All of these moves by teams drafting in the top 10 picks of April’s NFL draft suggest that the league is underwhelmed by the quarterback crop this year, headlined by West Virginia University’s own Geno Smith. Some analysts have pointed out in recent days that the moves made at the top of the draft suggest that NFL teams are going to opt for other positions such as offensive and defensive line rather than taking a quarterback.

But when you look at the players acquired by these teams, you can’t help but think that these quarterbacks are short-term solutions.

If you are the Chiefs, are you really excited about Alex Smith? Yes, he had one and a half good seasons under Jim Harbaugh but was a nobody before that system. Andy Reid’s system is not Harbaugh’s system, so there are going to be a ton of questions about how he fits into Reid’s style of play.

What about the Oakland Raiders? Matt Flynn, for his entire career, has thrown 141 passes (completing 87) for 1,083 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions over 5 seasons. He showed flashes of greatness in Joe Philbin’s pass happy offense but Philbin decided to pass on Flynn when he had the chance to bring him to Miami. If Flynn really had the potential to be great don’t you believe Philbin would have made a greater push to acquire him?

Oct. 14, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end (90) Chris Kelsay sacks Arizona Cardinals quarterback (4) Kevin Kolb at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Bills defeated the Cardinals 19-16 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals and Bills certainly can’t be happy about their current quarterback situations. Both are saddled with over-priced washouts. Palmer, who enjoyed his greatest success in Cincinnati, still has a solid arm, but seemed to be less than thrilled to be in a Raiders uniform. Not sure suiting up for an offensively depleted Cardinals squad is going to make him happier. And Kolb, who seems to always seems to be injured, is not going to fair much better for a Bills team that just let their most talented offensive lineman (Andy Levitre) walk in free agency.

As for the Eagles, Michael Vick is one of the most electrifying players in the NFL…. 5 years ago. Vick is clearly past his prime and his style of play has cost him his explosiveness. He was once the most elusive man on the field, but after so many hard hits and injuries, he is a shell of the player he once was. Chip Kelly certainly could use Vick to mentor the young quarterbacks on his roster, but Nick Foles and Dennis Dixon have done little to substantiate that they can carry an NFL franchise.

So it is clear that while these franchises have brought in new quarterbacks, they are far from solving their issues in the pocket. Drafting a quarterback like Geno Smith at the top of the draft is the logical choice.

Dec 23, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) signals for a first down during the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Lambeau Field. The Packers won 55-7. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Sure, this is not the 1983 quarterback class featuring Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, and John Elway. But there is no reason to believe that, with proper grooming and time to learn, that quarterbacks like Geno Smith might not have similar career trajectories as Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees.

If you are in the front office of the Chiefs, Raiders, Eagles, Cardinals, and Bills, you have to be making a push to draft Geno Smith to be your grooming project for the next season or two. With the rookie wage scale in effect, you can snag Geno Smith for little more than you pay a decent back-up quarterback. If he doesn’t work out (which by all indications he is going to be a franchise quarterback), then you still have some hope that the misfit toy of a quarterback you brought in will work out.

It would be foolish to not roll the dice on Geno Smith in the top 10 of the draft.

The four NFL.com experts picking mock drafts are Daniel Jeremiah, Matt Smith, Bucky Brooks, and Josh Norris. Each expert’s draft varied wildly in the order in which the top prospects came off the board. For example, consensus top talent Luke Joekel goes anywhere from #1 to the Kansas City to #7 to the Arizona Cardinals.

Feb 24, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith (13) participates in a passing drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

What the four experts seem to agree fairly well on is that Geno Smith will be off the board by the #8 pick. Three of four NFL.com experts have Geno Smith going #8 to the Buffalo Bills, while Matt Smith has Geno going #7 to the Arizona Cardinals.

With the Ryan Fitzpatrick experiment over in Buffalo and the Bills under new management, coach Doug Marrone will be looking to find his future quarterback in the draft. Many have speculated that the Bills would pass on quarterbacks in the first round, waiting until the top of the second to grab former Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib.

Should Geno go off the board at #7 to the Cardinals, it is highly likely that the Bills could pursue Nassib in the second round.

While the NFL.com experts were in general agreement about Smith’s draft stock, they are in complete disagreement about Tavon Austin’s draft value.

One expert, Daniel Jeremiah, has Austin going #13 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Austin’s speed and accleration in the open field would be a perfect compliment to Vincent Jackson’s deep threat. The Buccaneers do have a need for a top end cornerback as bad as that group played last season but with Dee Milliner likely off the board before they select, the Bucs will go with the best available player.

Feb 24, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Tavon Austin runs with the ball after making a catch during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Two of the NFL.com experts (Brooks and Norris)  like Tavon Austin for the St. Louis Rams at #16. With Danny Amendola now in New England, the Rams are in desperate need of receiving talent. Austin would be a major upgrade from Amendola, especially in the special teams area.

Wide receiver is clearly the top priority for the Rams, but they could elect to go in another direction with the more conventional Keenan Allen from California. While Allen is an exceptional talent, Austin clearly has a ton of upside and the ability to make an impact in special teams, receiving, and the in the read option game.

The final expert, Matt Smith likes Austin to go to the Minnesota Vikings at #23. The departure of versatile Percy Harvin leavs a huge void in the Vikings offense.

Why not replace Harvin with a younger, faster, even more versatile player like Austin? If he is still on the board by the time the Vikings draft, Austin will be a slam dunk for the Vikings at #23.