After not having a player go until the 179th overall pick of last season’s NFL Draft, South Carolina fans did not have to wait nearly as long this time around.

Cornerback Cam Smith was drafted in the second round, going 51st overall to the Miami Dolphins. Smith is the first South Carolina cornerback to go since Jaycee Horn went No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers in 2021, and is also the highest-drafted player since then.

Horn and Smith had overlap at South Carolina, and they had contact with each other throughout the draft process.

“Just be calm,” Smith was Horn’s biggest advice to him about the draft when asked at South Carolina’s Pro Day. “Everything is not going to happen exactly how you think it is, but just stay calm between everything.”

Smith, a Blythewood, S.C. native, played 33 games for South Carolina during his four seasons, two under Will Muschamp and two under Shane Beamer. He started 16 games over the last two seasons, rising to the role of the team’s top shutdown cornerback. He made 91 tackles – 69 solo — in his college career and had six interceptions, including picks in three of his last four games of the 2021 season that helped him garner some draft buzz going into 2022.

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