Talking Torrey Smith's Record-Breaking Performance Against N.C. State

Are you wondering just how good Torrey Smith's game against N.C. State was? Saying it's "record-breaking" would accurate, but it's also a bit of an understatement.

First off, all of his stats - the 14 catches, the 224 yards, the 4 TDs - were all personal bests for Smith. No real surprise there, I guess. But it was one of the most prolific receiving games Maryland's ever seen.

The 14 catches were second-best all-time for Maryland. The 224 yards were third-best. But who cares about mere second-best performances? Torrey was out there for the gold.

• The four TDs? That's a Terps record. No Terrapin had ever eclipsed four receiving TDs in a single game before Torrey Smith did it last night.

• Those four scores added to his season total, which is now at 12. Those twelve TDs in a single season? That's also a Terps record. That's three more than any Maryland receiver has ever had in a single year.

• He had a grand total of 272 yards when you factor in kickoff returns. That puts him at 5140 career all-purpose yards. Guess what? That also broke a record, eclipsing Lamont Jordan's 4960 career yards. 
• The 224 receiving yards vaulted him over 1000 yards on the season. He's on the second Terrapin ever to have a 1000-yard receiving season (Marcus Badgett in the early 90s being the first).

By the way, he broke all three of those all-time records in only three years. And, for the record, he still has one more game to go this year.

He also has a grand total of 2208 career receiving yards, second all-time to only Jermaine Lewis. He now has 19 TDs in his career, which is second on Maryland's all-time list. His 150 career receptions are good for third on the all-time list.

Questions about Smith being one of the best WRs in Maryland history, if there were any, were probably answered last night. He's above-and-beyond Darrius Heyward-Bey in terms of production and is nearing Jermaine Lewis, the only WR still above him in the career numbers.

Oh, and by the way, consider that he's done most of this while hurt.

If he returns next season, you can expect every record in the book to be obliterated. Even if he doesn't improve - which he almost certainly would, considering he wouldn't be hurt - and even if Maryland doesn't look his way as much as they should again - which they almost certainly wouldn't, considering the statement he made today - he'd surpass every Maryland record that he could with a repeat performance of this season. If things get better, you better start looking at the ACC records.

Of course, who knows what Torrey will do? He doesn't seem to know quite yet, but it's easy to tell which way he's leaning:

Just because you play well doesn't mean you can go. I have to weigh my options. I love being here. I wouldn't have chose any other school if I could. Everything has worked out great for me here. I definitely would love to be here for another year, but I have to weigh my options. I graduate in December. I've got a single mother. She's got some things going on at home. Things aren't the best. Whatever is the best situation for me to do, obviously I'll take that route.

He already has his degree. He has a single mother with "things going on at home." He's breaking records left and right. No one could fault him if he does in fact leave. It's not a guarantee - after the night he just had, the potential of playing with Danny O'Brien for another year and boosting his draft stock is pretty enticing - but if I had to bet, I'd put my money on him leaving.

NFLDraftScout, for the record, has him as the 5th best WR in his class. Considering his class is populated by A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Michael Floyd, Jonathan Baldwin, and Ryan Broyles, that's pretty impressive. It's also kind of scary for Smith's draft prospects. If the majority of them come out, Smith will likely be lost in the shuffle and might do well to stay for one more year and come out when the class is a little weaker. If the majority of them stay, the class would be weak enough for Smith to make the jump now.

Anyway, enough of that talk. Smith's performance was huge. It was either the perfect way to cap a career or a very promising harbinger of things to come.