Shawn Smart plays right back for Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL Championship, first catching my eye on Clemson’s national championship team. After 3 goal contributions and 8 yellow cards in 32 regular season appearances, he has attracted the attention of Sparta Rotterdam. The 20-year-old has plenty of promise and this report will shed light on where his current ability stands and if Sparta have recruited a prospect or an immediate starter.
At 1.73 m, Smart is short even for a wide player and has a lean frame. Through his time in the NCAA and USL, he proved there is more than enough grit and physical strength to his game to hold up outside of amateur leagues. Naturally, he turns well as a shorter athlete, but it is not a trait that wows at his current level like it did in moments at Clemson. Pace-wise, Smart is not the fastest player, but he is quite quick with an explosive first step while working hard to maintain his initial speed over the length of his run. With that explosiveness comes some control issues, as struggling to stop at the end of recoveries or closeouts led to some foul problems for him. Despite being a product of the NCAA, his fitness is not a worry as he played 2,694 minutes this season. He completed 18 90s this season (several back-to-back) following a Clemson campaign where rules allowed him to substitute off and back on.
Mentally is where Smart is strongest. His teammates in college clearly looked to him for on-field guidance and his frequent visible and audible communication from the back as a pro continues to exemplify his vocal leadership despite his youth. Paired with his strength as a communicator is his tactical intelligence. This elite trait for the USL has not only allowed him to see the spaces he must move/pass into prior to the ball being at he or his relationship’s feet, his tactical intelligence lets him move fluidly from an inverted to wide fullback role from half-to-half and game-to-game.
Defensively, Smart’s on-ball positioning has room for improvement and is part of why he is an inconsistent wide defender currently. He is over reliant on his athleticism in 1v1s, as his quickness to recover and relentless approach get him back on the hip of his marker often when failing with his front-footedness at first. With better athletes on this path ahead of him, this must be developed as he will not be able to fall back on it. A promising note of his on-ball defense was his performance in the US Open Cup versus Denis Bouanga (where he scored a header). In a matchup against one of the best MLS wingers, Smart mostly held his own and managed to win a couple of timely stand challenges after being lined up out wide. His approach to duels and 1v1s is primarily for timing, watching and waiting for the right moment to take a risk, then pouncing in physically on a punishing challenge, usually standing over sliding. His physicality in duels has taken a dip since becoming a professional, but he still does not shy away from contact although it can overwhelm him at times, especially in his own third. Dealing with pressure defensively is hopefully something he will gain more confidence in with more minutes against senior players. Despite being such an avid communicator, Smart has been caught switched off on the back side of play at times. This youthful mistake is something he will learn from against attacks that will take better advantage. Outside of that, Smart is reliable defending off ball, having timely recoveries despite playing far up the pitch in moments and man marking rather tightly when instructed by the tactics. His zonal marking is nothing special and brings no glaring mistakes.
On the attack, Smart provides support with mixed width runs and as a back pass outlet in the base of midfield. When staying back on the attack, he is reliable distributing both with and without pressure and is quite press resistant. His dribbling control and snappy right footed decision making in distribution make sure possession is retained. When distributing, Smart prefers to keep the ball on the ground and is a possession passer looking to pass laterally inside and push it forward to runners ahead of him in stride. His technique provides mostly soft passes to control, allowing for easy flow in possession for his teammates. His best attribute on ball is taking on defenders with his quickness on the dribble. Smart can use a turn of pace both to the outside and inside with his natural explosiveness to create just enough space to cutback or finish it himself, usually going for power. Prior to these 1v1s will sometimes come a progressive carry up the right flank if he has open space to operate ahead of him. Smart would rather use possession to get up the pitch, especially in the Las Vegas Lights’ tactics, although he is more than capable of providing wing-stretching carries.
In Smart, Sparta Rotterdam could get an intelligent fullback prospect with potential to squeeze his way into the first team sooner than later. Moving to a bottom half Eredivisie club straight out of the USL is a big leap and may mean an immediate loan to a Scandinavian club is on the horizon. Smart has been an outstanding talent and a winner at every level he has played—this next move will be his biggest challenge by far. He could be transferring to a club currently threatened by relegation, and it could be the highest standard he thrives in professionally. This would be a huge change in environment and be interesting to watch how he grows within it.
Target Scouting 
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