TAFT'S SMITH PERFECTLY SUITED MULTISPORT STAR ONLY PLAYER TO SCORE A 10.

Byline: Ted Kian Staff Writer

Evaluating athletes always has involved isolating and categorizing their skills. How fast can they run the 40-yard dash? Are they they right height and weight for their position? How much can they lift?

The ``correct'' numbers can push a high school player up the recruiting rankings. But no matter how many categories are created and numbers crunched, coaches still evaluate players on how they perform with the pads on. This explains why Steve Smith is the only player to receive a perfect score on the 2003 Best in the West team.

The BIW is compiled by the Long Beach Press-Telegram, a sister paper of the Daily News, from rankings by 10 college head coaches and recruiting coordinators.

A wide receiver/free safety from Taft High in Woodland Hills, Smith is not big (6-foot-1, 185 pounds), extremely fast (4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash) or overly strong (230-pound bench press). He is, though, the consummate playmaker on the field.

Smith was too young to be eligible to play varsity football as a freshman, then spent three years regularly facing defensive schemes that were designed to stop him in the talent-laden City Section.

But his 271 career receptions rank first in California high school history. Smith had 91 catches for 1,586 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, and 86 catches for 1,362 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

He also had 12 interceptions as a junior and five as a senior, leading Taft to the City Section championship game both seasons. Smith was joined on the 2003 Best in the West first team by his prep teammates, Noah Smith and Lance Broadus, giving Taft the most BIW selections.

``Steve Smith's a difference-maker on the field,'' said Dick Lascola of Scouting Evaluation, who has been grading prep talent in the West for 27 years. ``He's one of those guys who just jumps out on you every time you see him on film because he's so fluid and knows how to play the game. When the scoreboard goes up, he performs at his best, and I think a lot of it is instinctive.''

Smith began earning his athletic reputation long before he stepped on the football field. Steve Smith Sr. signed his son up to play in a soccer league when he was 6.

``Steve didn't know anything about soccer, but he went out there on his first day and was the best player on the field. I was amazed,'' the elder Smith said. ``Since then, he's excelled at every sport I ever put him in. But through it all, he's stayed a humble kid, and that's what I'm most proud of.''

Smith's prep accomplishments are not limited to football. He likely will be a four-time first-team All-City Section basketball player. Smith entered this season with 1,456 career points. He averaged 26.8 points and 9.3 rebounds as a sophomore, and 25.1 points and 8.9 rebounds as junior.

He has been timed at 10.8 seconds in the 100 meters and runs the first leg on a Taft 400-meter relay team that last spring ran 40.74 seconds, the sixth-fastest high school time in the nation.

``As the competition goes up, Steve raises his level of play,'' Taft basketball coach Derrick Taylor said. ``He may not be the fastest guy in the state, but he never gets caught from behind on the football field, and he can beat anybody off the dribble in basketball.''

Smith, who carries a 3.0 GPA and scored 880 on the SAT, is also an outstanding swimmer and could be a major-college volleyball prospect if he dedicated himself to that sport.

``I've always had fun playing sports, and they always came easy to me,'' he said. ``I could dunk a basketball by the time I was in the sixth grade, and when I started playing flag football in the seventh grade, no one could deny me the ball.''

Smith said he plans to focus on football in college. He is rated the No. 2 prep prospect in the country by Rivals.com, behind Tallahassee, Fla., North Christian High tailback/linebacker Ernie Sims.

Smith has narrowed his college choices to USC and Tennessee.

Whichever school signs Smith on Feb. 5 will be getting an impact player, according to Troy Starr, who resigned as Taft's head coach after the season.

``We featured Steve in our offense, and he made a lot of big plays for us,'' Starr said. ``He is a very polished receiver, and that's where I expect him to play in college. I see no reason why he wouldn't be a success at the next level.''

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

BEST IN THE WEST FOOTBALL TEAM

The Best in the West team is compiled by the Long Beach Press-Telegram, a sister paper of the Daily News, from rankings by 10 college head coaches and recruiting coordinators.