Bryson Smith has been impressed by the quality of pitchers he has faced so far, and he has only seen action in scrimmages against his teammates.
Smith, a transfer from Young Harris College, has not played a game in a Gators uniform yet, but he can already tell the difference from his junior college days.
“I come down here and everyone is so good and so talented,” he said. “So, it’s been quite a change from junior college because there is not as much depth as there is here.”
The adjustment at the plate shouldn’t be a problem for the junior third baseman, who will likely start at that spot in No. 7 Florida’s season opener Friday.
He won National Junior College Player of the Year last season after hitting .467 along with 21 home runs and 90 RBIs.
“Velocity was about the same as junior college, but the off-speed (pitches) guys have here is ridiculous,” Smith said. “It took a little adjustment to get used to.”
He was limited during the fall because of a mid-June surgery on his wrist, but Smith has been going at it 100 percent in the spring.
UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan envisions Smith hitting either second, fifth or sixth in the lineup. His speed and ability to hit for contact make him a viable option for the top of the order.
His former coach at Young Harris, Rick Robinson, remembers a point in the 2009 season in which Smith had only struck out twice through 100 at-bats.
He finished the year averaging only one strikeout for about every nine at-bats.
Defensively, however, he did not enjoy the same success.
Smith ended last season with 17 errors and a .899 fielding percentage.
But some of his problems with the glove stemmed from the circumstances he was put under.
“The biggest thing for us was that we really didn’t know where Bryson was going to play,” Robinson said. “We were moving him around an awful lot. We didn’t really give him an opportunity to settle into a position.”
He saw time at second and third base and in the outfield at Young Harris.
But since coming to Florida, Smith has worked solely at third, where he will replace Brandon McArthur.
Smith takes 100 ground balls every day from UF assistant coach Brad Weitzel.
“I’ve been working on it daily,” Smith said. “I’ve seen dramatic improvement, so I feel a lot better and lot more comfortable now.”
It hasn’t been easy, though. The coaches had to re-teach the fundamentals to Smith, who needed to sure up both his fielding and throwing.
“He comes out here on his off days and works on his own,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s taking it as a challenge, and he has improved an awful lot.”
The 6-foot-2 Smith was drafted in the 30th round of the MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians but decided to transfer to Florida instead of making the jump to professional baseball for one huge reason.
“He still has some things to prove,” Robinson said. “I think his biggest goal is making an appearance in the College World Series, and that’s one of the main reasons he chose UF.”
