Heading into the Combine in Indianapolis, many people (myself included) rated Alabama T Andre Smith as the top offensive line prospect in the draft. I projected him as the #1 overall pick in my latest mock draft, thanks to his blend of strength, quickness, and powerful technique. But a funny thing happened on the way to the draft. The talk of the town Saturday has been Andre Smith?s AWOL status. This comes on the heels of a few days of flip-flopping that makes John Kerry look bedrock. First he?s not going to work out, then he changes his mind and says he?s all in. Friday he pulls the plug and officially withdraws from full workouts but is still expected to do more interviews and lightly participate. This morning, as all the other offensive linemen commenced workouts, Smith was nowhere to be found. One reporter claimed he saw Smith hurrying out of the hotel with all his luggage, trying desperately to avoid notice, a tall task for a 6?4?, 332 pound mountain of a man. Nobody seems to have a clear answer as to what happened or where he is now. Andre Smith was the topic du jour at a local watering hole last night as well. I was out and about with a couple of NFL scouts and some fellow ?draftniks?, and one scout talked about his team?s experience interviewing Smith. They asked him about his desire to dominate and his seeming indecisiveness, and Smith?s answers indicated to them that he would rather take the easy road. Where other guys talked about how hard they?ve worked to get where they are and how much they love playing football, Smith talked about how he?s forever been the best and how he likes the business of football. His disappearance today only reinforces that perception, though it calls into question his business acumen. Smith has turned pretty minor issues into giant yellow flags, unfurling doubt into a stiff headwind. Once a lock to be one of the first three picks of the draft, Smith could conceivably fall to the middle of the first round with his horrible Combine. Seizing the day is a different Smith, Jason of Baylor. Highly regarded but shrouded in a lot of vagueness coming from a minor program and not much exposure or hype, Jason Smith is adeptly wearing the glass slipper and turning the pumpkin into the beautiful horse-drawn carriages around the city center. Smith displayed great overall athleticism, putting up 33 bench press reps and performing well in the 3-cone agility drill. His star was already shining thanks to his humbly confident manner in interviews and his tangible desire to keep improving. A converted tight end in the manner of Joe Staley, teams are falling in love with Jason Smith?s potential and the likelihood he works hard to achieve it and maximize it. Entering this week, I had Jason Smith as the #3 tackle on my big board and being drafted in the 6-10 overall range. With his impressive performance here in Indianapolis, it is now Jason Smith, not Andre Smith, that could be the #1 overall draft pick. It is hard for me to see him falling below the Rams at the #2 overall pick, as he has a lot of the traits of Orlando Pace, the man he would be replacing in St. Louis. I?ve known Pace since his freshman year of high school, and the way Smith handles himself off the field and blends his athleticism with power on the field reminds me very much of a younger Orlando Pace. Sights and Sounds: Brian Cushing and James Laurinaitis hitting the media line together, looking and sounding very much like BFFs despite looking like the odd couple. Cushing has long, flowing locks and has muscles on his muscles, while Laurinaitis has the Johnny Unitas hair special and is more thick than sculpted. The good-natured, but clearly competitive ribbing between the two should ease any concerns teams had about their mentality or desire to succeed and be the best. Percy Harvin is both taller and thicker in person than I anticipated. On the flip side, Quan Cosby looks shorter than he did in Mobile, and that?s tough for a guy who barely reaches 5?6?. This overall group is less heavily tattooed than the past couple of draft classes. Hopefully the ink fad is fading, though when you see Aaron Curry or Rey Maualuga you almost can?t see their own skin color on half their bodies and it doesn?t look stupid. Jerry Jones can rest assured his directive of ?no leaks? is being taken to heart. I?ve had a very cordial working relationship with a Cowboys staffer for a couple of years, a guy I could reliably go to and get info on both his team and evaluations of college players. Twice today I?ve asked him about specific prospects here that I know he has personally evaluated, and he literally won?t even give me the time of day. Thanks for that, Mr. Jones. The Vikings staff appeared to show unusually keen interest in the TE workouts. In a coincidentally related tangent, premier TE prospect Brandon Pettigrew ran the 40-yard dash three times after being unsatisfied with his times. His best time (4.87) was still about .15 seconds slower than anyone anticipated and his 10-yard splits were terrible. It will be intriguing to see how teams feel about his day--he disappointed athletically but showed great desire and work ethic, sort of the opposite of what some people expected of him. My early pulse is that his stock is safe as the top TE and being drafted in the 11-20 range. A lot of teams are going to rue the decision to hire inexperienced coaches over Brian Billick. I know, faithful readers, that I need to get over my man crush on Billick, but this guy really impresses with his knowledge of the prospects and how what they?ve done in college translates to the pros, and how he would fit with certain teams and schemes. Watching the agents trying to corner the GMs and coaches, and the subsequent reactions of the targets as they try desperately to worm away, is just outstanding human theater. I?m not a big Jay Mohr fan, but he nailed the part of the couth, self-serving, glad-handling vapidity of agentdom in Jerry Maguire. It?s fun to get to talk to some of the lesser-regarded prospects here. While the high-profile guys shuffle from one radio spot to another TV appearance, the Anthony Felders and Davon Drews of the world wander around like the chunky awkward girls with braces and bad hair at the 7th grade dance. It?s too bad, because I?ve found some of the most interesting guys and informative info in terms of what teams are asking are the guys like this. Of course I was the geeky beanpole new kid in 7th grade who avoided the dance altogether out of fear of being wedgied by these same guys... Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com