Last year, after he was drafted by the Jets in the fourth round as a receiver, Smith’s disappointment seeped into a telephone conversation with reporters. “I’m a quarterback at heart,” he said.  Smiling at the memory, Smith said, “That’s how I was feeling, and I couldn’t hide it.”  Between the draft and the rookie minicamp, Smith said he did a lot of praying. He asked God for the strength and grace to accept his new role. He looked for signs that he had been delivered to the right place and discovered them straight away.  In Coach Eric Mangini, Smith found a kindred spirit, someone who shares his exultation of team over self. And he has become a kind of muse for the offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, whose imagination thrives on finding ways to use Smith.  “It’s always fun on Tuesdays to think about different things you can do with him,” Schottenheimer said.  Then there is the special-teams coordinator, Mike Westhoff, who knew exactly what to do with Smith, having taken another former college quarterback, Jim Jensen, and turned him into one of the better special-teams players in the N.F.L. in the late 1980s, when he was with the Miami Dolphins.  Jensen, a Boston University product, lasted 12 years in the league and was used at quarterback, running back, fullback, wide receiver, tight end, holder and long snapper.  “Brad reminds me of Jim Jensen,” Westhoff said, adding, “Whatever’s asked of Brad, he goes about it with a certain exuberance,”  Reached by telephone in South Florida, Jensen said Smith could count on Westhoff concocting amusing ways to use him. He remembered a fake-punt pass package that Westhoff installed for Jensen that resulted in his throwing a touchdown pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The first time Westhoff deployed Smith in a game, at Buffalo last season in Week 3, he was credited with a tackle of Roscoe Parrish, a dangerous punt returner.  “You know at that point that you’re dealing with a unique guy,” Mangini said.  He added: “He goes down and makes a few tackles, and it’s not a lot of fanfare. He’s not looking for any high-fives or anything like that. It’s just him doing his job and him doing whatever you ask him to do to help the team win.”  Marshall Faulk, a running back known for his versatility before a knee injury ended his career, said he could not believe some of the things he has seen from Smith on special teams.  “I don’t mean the return game,” said Faulk, who works for the NFL Network and has been tracking Smith’s career since he was at Missouri while Faulk was finishing his career in St. Louis. “To see a quarterback running down on punt coverage and making tackles, hitting guys — that’s what amazes me. That’s a whole other element.”  Speaking by telephone from Los Angeles, Faulk said that Smith in college reminded him of a raw Vince Young, the former Texas star who is the Tennessee Titans’ starting quarterback.  “I see the same intangibles,” Faulk said. “Watching him quarterback in college, it looked effortless.” He added: “Brad’s an asset to the Jets at quarterback. I’d like to see him have that option to run or throw the ball. They should install a small package for him, something that he doesn’t have to spend a lot of time on. It would give the Jets’ offense another element.”  Smith has not attempted a regular-season pass. “Am I ready to throw a pass?” he said, repeating a question. Smiling, he replied, “I’m always ready to do that.”  In college, Smith became the first Division I-A player to pass for at least 8,000 yards and run for 4,000. His transition to N.F.L. receiver is less novel, if no less intriguing.  “The one thing about former quarterbacks,” said Schottenheimer, a former college quarterback, “is they understand what the quarterback is thinking.”  He added: “They understand what it’s like standing back there with people flying all around trying to knock your head off, and why you’ve got to get open and be in the right spot. So I think that helps.”  What will happen when Smith is as comfortable running routes as he once was running an offense? Kellen Clemens, the Jets’ backup quarterback, laughed and said, “It’s scary to think about.”  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page 88 of the New York edition with the headline: Versatility Makes the Jets’ Smith a One-Man Depth Chart. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Brad Smith, whom the Jets can use as many ways as hamburger, will add himself to any mix to make his teammates look good.