"It's a massive season for me and it's an exciting time," says Ollie. "I've had a disappointing year to 18 months and I really want to get back playing well for Leicester and, eventually, one day hopefully playing for England, so I'd better start performing sooner rather than later.
"I feel I've really worked hard this pre-season. It's not been through lack of trying in the past - some things just haven't gone right for me and I can't put my finger on why. It seems that things are going quite well for me at the moment and I'm starting to show glimpses of the form I've shown in the past."
Despite the absence of 11 World Cup players, Smith believes Leicester is a great place to be at the moment. He also feels Tigers have the necessary strength in depth to put forward a strong challenge during the opening six-weeks of the season.
"It's really exciting to be a part of the squad right now, perhaps even more so with the World Cup guys away because the young lads who have come in are fresh and enthusiastic and keen to impress and that definitely spurs on some of the older players and those of us who have been around a bit longer.
"It's still a fantastically-strong squad. If you compare us to most of the squads during the World Cup period, we still believe we should be up there. Hopefully, we can transfer that belief on to the pitch."
The 25-year-old centre, who featured in the pre-season friendlies against Cornish Pirates, Bedford, Nottingham and Montauban, impressing with his sharpness in attack and strength in defence, is relishing playing the role of an elder statesmen in 2007/08.
"It's a natural progression really. The older you get and the more experience you gain, you take on a different role as other players move on and young lads come into the team. I try and help out the younger guys as much as I can and the likes of Goodey and Sam Vesty in the backline are doing the same."
