I officially met UA quarterback Keith Smith on Saturday night. I played across the line from him in high school, but beyond the usual obscenities about his mother and what we were about to do to him, I had never said a word to him.

I've often wondered why he gave up professional baseball to come back to college football. On Saturday, I found out why.

He's got too much expendable energy. Spending three hours on a baseball field wasn't enough a rush for this guy.

The Energizer bunny has nothing on Keith Smith.

The redshirt freshman was full of energy after the Wildcats' 23-3 victory over Texas-El Paso.

He was like John Madden minus the luxury bus and the six-legged Thanksgiving turkey. During the game, he was clapping his hands and had the wide-eyed look of a man who could've gone a few more quarters.

But maybe it's lucky for Smith that he didn't. That would have given himself more time to put his body in danger.

First there was his rushing touchdown. He ran so fast and got so excited, he forgot to stop and slammed into a barrier.

"I thought there was going to be somebody there," Smith said of his open dash for the goal line. "I almost ran through (the barrier)."

Dangerous predicament number two came when Smith lined up at wide receiver. He caught a pass and turned to the inside to run for yardage. That was a mistake, as Smith soon found out.

"It was fun to go inside, but if you go inside you've got linebackers out there trying to rip your head off," he said.

For Smith, who hadn't played a football game since the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Championship in the winter of 1993, the crowd was a big pick-up as well.

Smith played his high school football at Newbury Park High School in Southern California's Marmonte League, where teams average 6,000 to 7,000 fans per game. But that number pales in comparison to the 40,000-plus who took in the UTEP game at Arizona Stadium.

"I never been in anything like that," Smith said. "I can't wait until next week at Iowa with 70,000 people."

Yes, Keith, that many people will be a sight to see. But on Saturday, the crowd won't be cheering for you.

Sports editor Craig Degel shares his thoughts on sports and life Wednesdays in the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

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