There’s a lot other like about New York Giants wide receiver and kick returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Just ask his coach, special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial.
“Yeah, multiple things,” Ghobrial said when asked why the teams decided to re-sign Smith-Marsette this past offseason. “No. 1, a good decision maker. I think when you’re talking about the returner spot, you want a guy that when he’s out there he makes good decisions, whether he’s in traffic, whether he’s in the open field. And then he obviously takes care of that football. That’s a priority No. 1.”
Ghobrial didn’t stop there, he pointed to Smith-Marsette’s production, which included a 100-yard kickoff return versus Indianapolis late last season.
“Second thing you saw was production. The guy scored twice in this league, albeit one got called back, but he scored twice, which not many returners in the league last year did that. He’s one of the few,” he said.
Ghobrial went into the intangibles, of which Smith-Marsette apparently has many.
“Then you’re always talking about the character of a person and their competitive integrity. That guy has it. You see that in the manner in which he approaches the meetings. You hear the way he communicates with his teammates. I’ll never claim I can cross the white line. When he’s out there, he’s the voice,” he said.
“It’s good to hear that voice in the meeting room, which you guys obviously don’t hear, but he’s able to do that. His teammates respect that because they know how important it is to him.
“So you see just a leadership role from a returner standpoint show up, and that’s why obviously he’s had success and why we’re happy to have him back.”
Smith-Marsette will be the Giants’ top return man this season but also wants to prove himself as an asset on offense as well. He’ll have quite a few hurdles to clear for him to get himself into the mix as the team has a glut of talented young receiving options.
He has been making plays on offense at OTAs this spring, so anything is possible.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants coach lauds Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s talent, leadership