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Just out of college, the Timbers’ new defender has carried himself like a pro.
BEAVERTON — Three days after the first start of his professional career, Portland rookie defender Ian Smith was already talking like a seasoned pro. Sure, he just had one of the high points of Portland’s early season, a stellar debut into the lineup that directly contributed to a goal in the Timbers’ 1-0 win. But when he got back to the locker room, Smith said his phone wasn’t exactly blowing up. He had some messages from family, but largely everyone in his orbit was of the same mindset.
“It was just one game,” Smith said. “I’m just ready to focus on the next one. Nashville.”
So, let’s get this part out of the way: Smith is 22 years old, which hardly makes him the youngest player on this Portland Timbers roster. However, Portland’s first-round pick in December’s MLS Super Draft is the greenest when it comes to professional experience.
The Timbers selected Smith with the 14th pick in the draft out of the University of Denver, where Smith made 61 starts and served his final two years as captain. He’s from Colorado, played for Real Colorado from age 3 through high school and stayed in Colorado for his four-year collegiate career.
It’s a slightly different route than fellow defender Finn Surman, a 21-year-old from New Zealand who made the second start of his Timbers career on Saturday but already has 50-plus appearances as a professional.
“Finn has been a pro since he was 17 or 18 years old, so it’s definitely different,” Smith said. “He has more experience at the highest level, but I think being in college for four years helped me learn a lot about who I was and what I needed to do to be the best player I could be — so I’m glad I took that route.”
The Timbers viewed Smith as one of the most well-rounded players in the draft, shaped by those four years in college.
“We saw someone who was seven out of 10 in everything he did,” manager Phil Neville said. “From his interview, to his fitness, to his technical, his tactical — he was just seven out of 10.
“What you see on the tin is what you get.”
So no, Smith’s solid start to his rookie campaign hasn’t exactly caught the Timbers’ brass by surprise. Yes, the MLS SuperDraft can be a bit of a crapshoot, but the Timbers grew familiar with Smith when he worked out with the Timbers2 squad last summer. And while the team added him hoping that he could provide depth, it quickly became apparent to Neville and the front office during preseason training that they were dealing with a player who was ready to be a professional.
Smith signed a deal with the club on Jan. 31. By mid-February, team owner Merritt Paulson described him as a “Diamond in the rough” — a solid defensive back with the versatility to play all around the field.
And it’s that versatility that may keep Smith on the pitch. On Saturday, Smith started for Kamal Miller at left-back after Miller’s red card in the opener. He played 90 minutes, drew large praise from Neville — “That’s just a normal performance for him. Trust me.” — and has positioned himself to, at the very least, play minutes moving forward even upon the return of Miller and eventually injured defender Dario Zuparic.
“I loved his quote after the game about, ‘I just did my job,’” Neville said. “That is Ian Smith. He’s just going to do his job. And, he can play any position on the pitch and he won’t let you down.
“He is definitely somebody that we will utilize in a number of positions and we got competition now at left-back and center-back and he’s put himself forward with a really good performance.”
Again, Smith said he’s just doing his job and that the goal is to secure another clean sheet on Saturday when the Timbers face Nashville SC for the club’s first road match of the season. In the meantime, he’s still taking in everything he can like a sponge.
“I think it’s just the older guys here that have been teaching me everything they know,” Smith said. “Kamal, (Zac McGraw), (James Pantemis), (Maxime Crepeau) — they know how to act, they know how to represent themselves. I just try to do what they do.”
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor
