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Utah Utes football: Shaky Smithson makes a variety of big plays
Published: Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010 1:46 a.m. MDT By Dirk Facer, Deseret News

Iowa — Shaky Smithson is a man of his word. He certainly was in 10th-ranked Utah's 68-27 victory at Iowa State.

"I just try to do anything I can to help the team," Smithson said. "Whenever I've got the ball in my hands, you know, I just try to make a big play and just get the momentum for my team."

Mission accomplished.

After returning a punt 78 yards to the Iowa State 2 to set up the Utes' first touchdown, Smithson went on to throw a 32-yard scoring strike to DeVonte Christopher on a reverse and was the recipient of a 61-yard touchdown toss from Jordan Wynn.



Associated Press
Utes receiver Shaky Smithson reacts after catching a 61-yard touchdown pass against the Cyclones.

"Shaky's a dynamic football player," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said while praising his confidence, especially on punt returns. "He's got that special ability to make guys miss."

Smithson, a two-time Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, made quite a case for a third. He's now returned three punts this year for more than 70 yards. The two others went for touchdowns — 77 yards against UNLV and 73 in a win over New Mexico.

"The great ones make guys miss and that's what Shaky has that ability to do," Whittingham said before adding that Smithson did a great job throwing the ball as well. He read the defense on the throw to Christopher by hitting the brakes early and getting the ball to where it needed to be.

"Heads up play by Shaky diagnosing that," Whittingham said.

Smithson, who entered the game leading the MWC in punt returns and was ranked fifth nationally with an average of 21.4 yards, was confident the Utes would overcome early turnovers that led to a 14-10 deficit and prevail.

"I did, honestly, because after you make a mistake you feel as though you've got to do something to make your coaches, you know, happy," Smith said. "So it's just like growing up. If you do something bad, you know, the next day you want to do something just to make your parents happy and that's what we did today."

e-mail: dirk@desnews.com

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Shaky Smithson East L.A College 2008