Here's the story from The Columbus Dispatch:
If you consider how much damage was done to Smith and his reputation in the wake of the national championship game, he actually finds himself in a very good spot. This could be one of those picks where five years down the line people are scratching their heads and saying, "how did we not see this coming?" McNair is nearing the end of his career, and Boller is not the future QB of the Ravens.Tressel said he spoke with Ravens coach Brian Billick about Smith earlier this year, when Billick was at Ohio State on a visit with his college-bound daughter.
Tressel then called Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome on Tuesday.
"I try to talk to as many teams as I can regarding all of our guys," Tressel said. "But I talked to five or six teams on (Smith's) behalf this past week that I thought had shown him the most interest."
Newsome said Tressel "just gave his endorsement of Troy Smith -- the type of person that he was, the type of competitor that he was. He said, 'I feel like (Baltimore) would be a very good place for him.' I took the information down, and it just so happened to fall that way."
Billick said he put a lot of stock in Tressel's recommendation.
"I have huge respect for Jim Tressel," Billick said. "He has a great deal of faith in this young man, as a person and as a leader. That's probably the thing that Jim came back to more than anything was this young man's natural leadership ability and the way players take to him."
Despite that, Newsome said the Ravens had Smith pegged as a second-day pick (fourth round or later). Eight quarterbacks were selected before Smith.
The drop will hurt Smith financially. Had he been selected in the third round, he likely would have received a signing bonus between $750,000 and $1 million. A late fifth-round player is likely to receive approximately $125,000.
But Smith could be in a good situation with the Ravens. Starting quarterback Steve McNair is 34 and has been injury prone. Backup Kyle Boller is entering the final year of his contract, and the only other quarterback on the roster is Drew Olson, an undrafted free agent in 2006 who spent the season on the practice squad.
"Whether he develops into a starter, I think that's up to Troy," Newsome said. "He will be given those opportunities."
The Ravens were 13-3 last season and AFC North Division champions. They play every year in Cleveland, Smith's hometown.
Plus, the Ravens are already a good team with an awesome defense who made the playoffs this year and are looking to improve. They actually require very little out of the quarterback position, which could allow Smith to step in and grow. Now how much does that sound like the situation Ohio State was in a few years ago when Smith and Justin Zwick were competing for the starting quarterback spot?
Overall, if Troy can prove himself to Baltimore and the rest of the league, I can't think of anything more exciting than the twice-yearly clashes between his Ravens and Brady Quinn's Browns.
