Kyle Smith, Redskins college scouting director, just wants to work out and scout football players

On the day he was announced as the Redskins’ new director of college scouting last month, Kyle Smith was thinking about, presumably among other things, travel toothpaste.

His new post was moving him from Atlanta, where he could scout the Southeastern area of the country entirely by car, to Washington, where flying cross-country to scout the top players nationwide will become a regular duty. Ergo, travel toothpaste.

“I’ve been trying to figure that out,” Smith said. “With the carry-ons? Now they’re so small, too, so you’ve got to bring your toothpaste and all that stuff, it’s so little. Those things — you’ve got to think about that stuff. I’m trying to.

“I just want to scout and stuff and now you have to worry about that.”

Airline regulations governing toiletries might seem an odd concern for a man amid one of the biggest professional days of his life. Smith isn’t kidding, though, when he says he just wants to scout. He self-describes as “a boring guy,” though he’s quick and engaging to talk to. His life — no girlfriend, few hobbies beyond his Netflix account and gym membership — is designed to accommodate his job, making carry-on restrictions the rare distraction.

“That’s what everyone does, I think,” Smith said. “I’m not a weirdo, right?”

Smith comes by his tunnel-vision honestly. His father, A.J. Smith, a longtime friend of Redskins President Bruce Allen and a former Redskins advisor, was the general manager of the Chargers from 2003-2013 and served in the Bills front office for 14 years before that. Smith spent his childhood in Buffalo, where his father read him AFC advance reports as bedtime stories. Instead of the Big Bad Wolf, he had Dan Marino and Bryan Cox.

Smith started watching tape in high school. He played wide receiver, and was watching to scout opponents, not prospects, but his father began teaching him to watch the way defensive backs moved their hips and, soon enough, Smith looked at and talked about players in the language of a scout.

“I know it’s my dad, and I’m biased, but he’s by far the best evaluator I’ve ever been around,” Smith said.

Along with Scott Campbell, the Redskins senior personnel executive, Smith says his father made him the scout that he is.

“It’s hard for a young man, a boy, to grow up around it and not want to be part of it and Kyle’s daddy was a general manager,” said Redskins Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams.

Smith was an intern for the Redskins, then was hired in 2011 as a scout covering the Southwest. He spent a year traipsing through Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma before the Redskins moved him to the Southeast, arguably the most important scouting area.

This year, Smith was the area scout who took the lead evaluating the Redskins top two draft picks — Alabama products Jonathan Allen and Ryan Anderson. Hearing Smith describe Allen and Anderson, making a compelling case for their abilities and character that helped the Redskins front office feel completely confident in the picks, led Williams to tap him to lead his college scouting department.

“They were Kyle guys,” Williams said. “And not because of what Kyle said, they can play, but Kyle got them right. He explained them.”

Auburn cornerback Josh Holsey and Georgia State wide receiver Robert Davis were Kyle guys, too.

Smith puts his iPad on shuffle, which yields anything from a slow jam to Metallica, to work out but he watches tape in silence. The only thing he does to pass the time is chew tobacco, though he’s trying to quit.

“I’m trying like crazy, man. I quit last year for six months and now my Ma’s on me again,” he said.

Smith goes to see his parents, and the beach, in San Diego when he wants to relax, though not to get a break from football. At Thanksgiving, the game stays on all through dinner, even when the Smiths say grace. Occasionally a no-football-talk challenge is issued, but never lasts for more than a few minutes.

“My dad, we can’t have a nice day without talking about a player. That’s the way it is with my family,” Smith said.

If the father-son scouting duo wasn’t enough to dominate the dinner table conversation, Smith’s sister married a scout for the Chicago White Sox. At least that gets them off of football on occasion.

Smith’s function in the Redskins restructured front office will be to focus his attention on top players, those the team would consider taking near the top of the draft. He’ll work most closely with Campbell and Assistant Director of College Personnel Tim Gribble.

Whenever there’s a break in the scouting calendar, Smith will still gravitate toward San Diego to visit his parents. A trip home will likely offer as much talk of player measurables and projections and traits as a week in the office or on the road, but that’s OK with him.