Joe Daniels is a former NFL assistant coach who specializes in the passing game, and he's the first to acknowledge the tasty potential of quarterbacks such as Louisiana State's JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, both of whom are expected go high in the draft later this month.

But Daniels also happens to be the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State, and the consensus among draft analysts that his Heisman Trophy-winning signal-caller, Troy Smith, likely will be a third-round pick at best leaves him scratching his head.

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"I just don't understand it," Daniels says. "From what I understand, one of the big knocks is that he's only 6 feet tall. So what? You're going to simply go with the assumption that because he's only 6 feet, his likelihood of success in the NFL is somehow diminished?

"Well, last time I looked, Drew Brees is 6 feet, too. What does that tell you?"

Brees, who, like Troy Smith, is indeed 6-0, was a key in the New Orleans Saints' resurgence last season and is a two-time Pro Bowler.

Daniels, who had NFL stops at Cleveland (1983-85), Buffalo (1986-87) and the New York Jets (1990-91), balks at talk that, unlike Brees, Troy Smith bails from the pocket too quickly.

"People say that, and the first thing I tell them is that they haven't watched film of the 2006 Troy Smith," he says. "People may have an image in their mind of how Troy Smith is and how he plays, but that image would change if they really sat down and watched all the tape."

Troy Smith completed 65% of his passes last season for 2,542 yards and a school-record 30 touchdowns.

"Whoever takes him in the draft," Daniels says, "is going to be happy as heck and glad they did it."

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