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Let's get the obvious out of the way.  Mark Slough is an agent who makes money talking up his clients.

 

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based lawyer is good at his job, as he proved last month when he secured at $20.5 million deal for Dallas nose tackle Jay Ratliff. 

 
His newest client is former Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith, who will play in Saturday's East-West Shrine Game. It is the second all-star game appearance in as many weeks for Smith, one of three quarterbacks for the East squad.

Slough said he spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday monitoring Smith at practice while meeting with scouts to get a feel for his client's strengths and potential weaknesses. Early projections have Smith as a late second-day draft pick, a sixth- or seventh-round selection.

"Mentally, he had an excellent grasp of what they were doing," said Slough, who also represents former TU tight end Garrett Mills. "When he was asked to step out there, (Coach) Dick Vermeil was over his shoulder and installing the offense. Paul quickly grasped it and took control of it."

The thing that stood out, Slough said, was Smith's stature. Physically, Smith (6-foot-2, 193 pounds) isn't the prototypical quarterback. But Slough notes that he's taller than New Orleans' Drew Brees (6-0, 209) and just as tall as Dallas' Tony Romo (6-2, 224).

After the Shrine Game, Smith will spend four weeks in Los Angeles working with a quarterbacks coach to prepare for the NFL Scouting Combine. He'll work on arm mechanics and continue to develop consistency to improve his draft status.

Slough currently represents 13 professional football players, and has several ties to Tulsa-based players. He recently signed linebacker Chris Chamberlain. In addition to Smith and Mills, he represents Nick Graham, Bobby Blackshire and Romby Bryant. Former Oklahoma and Jenks High School star Rocky Calmus is also a former client.

"I didn't set out with any mission to represent all these Tulsa players," Slough said with a slight laugh. "I was fortunate to get with Romby Bryant and these guys talk to each other.

"You just go out there and want to do a good job."