Alabama's Andre Smith Briefly Goes Missing at NFL Combine

Andre Smith is proving that the bigger you are the harder your draft status can fall.

Smith already had angered the assembled scouts by announcing that he wasn't going to workout, even while his competition for the title of top lineman (Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe) were going to work out and try to prove their status at the NFL scouting combine.

But things got much worse for Smith on Saturday morning. He went missing at the combine, which seems pretty amazing when you consider that it's hard to hide a 370-pound behemoth. His agent eventually announced that the tackle was headed back to Atlanta to work out with his trainer, although the agent had failed to promptly tell the NFL that he was bailing on Indy.

Former NFL GM Charlie Casserly was scolding Smith for the problems on NFL Network:

"He's not the first player who has left the combine early, that's fairly common if they're not going to work out," former NFL General Manager Charley Casserly said. "A lack of communication, that's not good. To fly back to work out, I'm not buying it. He could be here and be around. This is not good. A team told me this morning that this guy has not been the best worker. The thing that bothers me is I've seen how Nick Saban runs his programs and how hard he works those guys and challenges those guys. How far he'll drop in the draft, you don't want to throw him out because the guy has a lot of ability."

Draft analyst Mike Mayock was even harsher in his criticism of the overweight/out-of-shape former top offensive line prospect. Mayock said there was no excuse for showing up fat for what should be the biggest job interview of Smith's life.

As teams analyzed more and more film of Smith, he was already likely to start sliding down draft boards. While Smith can destroy defensive linemen in the running game, he has not had a lot of experience lining up and pass blocking NFL-style against speed rushers coming off of the edge. And when he was asked to handle speed rushers, he didn't show the feet and agility to do it consistently. While Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe are NFL left tackles, there is some concern that Smith will end up either at right tackle or guard. He may be dominating at one of those positions if he can grow up and show improved dedication, but right tackles and offensive guards are rarely drafted in the top 10 picks.