Interview: Meet Chargers UDFA CB Avery Smith

Back in January, Chargers Wire had the chance to speak with Toledo cornerback Avery Smith at the East-West Shrine Bowl. Now that Smith has signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent, let's revisit that interview to get to know the latest Charger a bit better. Chargers Wire: So you got recruited to Toledo as a quarterback, and then by the end of spring practice [your freshman year], you moved to corner.

Can you talk a little bit about that move and pivoting away from quarterback after playing that your whole life? Avery Smith: Yeah, it was definitely hard, a tough transition. I went through a lot of adversity, probably one of the big steps in my life, kind of shaping me as a man.

It was hard at first, transferring to a position I had never played before. Took a lot of work. Didn't really know too much technique, was getting beat a lot when I moved early on.

I just kept progressing, but my head down, kept working, and the progress started showing. CW: How much of playing quarterback for so long helped you translate to corner? Knowing the [passing] concepts and where the quarterback was going to be looking?