They watch his every move on the field and in the classroom, watch him lead, listen for any hint of his voice cracking, or that approaching biggest moment of his football life suddenly only 24 hours away may be too big for him.
And Geno Smith doesn’t let them see him sweat.
“He seems excited, and that’s what you want to see,” offensive guard Willie Colon said. “He seems very confident. I love his poise like I’ve always mentioned.”
Smith will need it Sunday against Darrelle Revis and the Buccaneers.
“He commands the huddle,” Colon said. “Guys are maybe kind of talking or whatever, he’s like, ‘Hey, tighten up the huddle, let’s focus.’ You want to see a guy go out there and command the huddle, get the plays out clearly so we can do our job, and he’s doing his job.”
How’s he throwing the ball?
“He looked great today for me,” Colon said.
The good vibes about the rookie quarterback were universal in the Jets locker room.
“He’s handling himself very well,” wide receiver Clyde Gates said. “I feel like he’s out there under no pressure at all. It helps a lot that we’re supporting him and helping him out and show him that we’re going to be there, we got his back, just like he got ours.”
Brady Quinn’s first NFL start with the Browns came on a Thursday night in Cleveland against the Broncos.
“I came away happy with how things went besides the fact that we didn’t win,” Quinn said.
Quinn has been impressed with Smith’s demeanor.
“He knows his assignments, he knows his reads, and he’s throwing the ball great, so he looks great out there,” Quinn said.
“There’s no better indication of how someone’s going to do in a game than how they practice, and he’s practicing fantastic.”
Smith was unavailable to the media Friday.
“I feel like he’s ready,” Gates said. “I feel like he’s so ready. His preparation, it’s carrying on from the film room to the field — he’s doing everything right.”
Wide receiver Stephen Hill had no nerves when he caught a pair of touchdown passes from Mark Sanchez in last year’s opener.
“Geno hasn’t changed, he’s in the playbook more,” Hill said, “but he hasn’t changed. He’s just taking over, making sure we understand what’s going through his mind, what we need to see from him. He’s not a loud-type guy, he’s not one of those guys that’s just rah rah, ‘This is what we need, this is what we need,’ but when he has a question in meetings, you understand where he’s coming from, or if he has something to say on the field, he’ll normally do most of the talking, so we’ll just adjust off him.”
Hill characterized Smith’s demeanor this way: “Focused and ready to play.”
The other side of the ball seconded that emotion.
“It seems he has the playbook down, and as long as he’s comfortable, he shouldn’t have no problem,” Muhammad Wilkerson said. “He made some great throws in practice.”
Tight end Jeff Cumberland is hoping for a breakout season.
“You can tell that he’s getting more comfortable like day-by-day. … You could just tell in the huddle that each day he’s getting more confident the way he says the plays and things like that,” Cumberland said. “He’s been here a lot longer, watching more film, and out there on the field, he was slinging the ball all around the field.”
Everything, of course, changes Sunday at 1 p.m.
“You don’t know what it’s all about until you get hit in the mouth and you see what you’re about and you’re in the flow of the game,” tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. said. “But he’s prepared, he’s ready, Matt’s [Simms] ready, so it’s time to just go play now.”