The Colts are off to a tremendous 6-1 start and ownt he best record int he NFL after seven weeks, and a large reason is Braden Smith, who is in the final year of a $71 million contract extension as he anchors
a solid offensive line…
… wait a minute…
Oh, this is about THAT Braden Smith. Gotcha.
Sorry for the interlude there, but we needed something to spice up this post that is essentially clickbait by admission. We need something to beef up the word count in an anotherwise non-surprising post.
In a move that shocks absolutely no one Purdue’s Braden Smith was named a unanimous preseason All-American earlier today:
Smith earned all 57 votes from a media panel in The Associated Press preseason All-America team released on Monday, a week after the Boilermakers were voted preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time. He was joined on a big-man-heavy first team by Texas Tech‘s JT Toppin (52 votes), Michigan‘s Yaxel Lendeborg (30), BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa (22) and Florida forward Alex Condon (16).
He will have a chance to face off agaisnt two of those other four First Team All-Americans as Purdue could face JT Toppin and Texas Tech in the Bahamas and it will face Yaxel Lendeborg during Big Ten play.
Smith was Big Ten Player of the Year last year and a First Team All-American. So far this offseason he has been named the preseason B1G Player of the Year and he is favored to win National Player of the Year. He is also up for the Nobel, the World Food Prize, and, surprisingly, Miss Universe thanks to his strong showing in the swimsuit competition.
Perhaps if he can start at quarterback for Purdue on November 28th after beating Eastern Illinois that afternoon the Boilers can maybe steal the Old Oaken Bucket back.