Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFB | Hard-hitting Smith stars for defense
By Mike Janela
Posted: 10/21/05, 1:37 AM EST Section: Sports
Growing up, Smith played not only football, but baseball, basketball and track. With two of his four adopted brothers - Donny and Matthew - only months apart in age, Smith had constant backyard competition and permanent teammates as the years passed.
Living on a property more than 5 acres large, the Smith boys found plenty of time to hone their skills once their actual games came to an end.
"There have been times when in high school they played Liberty (an opposing school)," Homer Smith said, "and there was a dispute in the game and the Liberty kids played the Hubbard kids in the backyard to settle the dispute. It was the place where the neighborhood kids came to play football from forever."
It's surprising opposing players chose to play Smith extracurricularly, considering he totaled 12 interceptions, 3,262 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns in his junior and senior years of high school.
Smith liked the backyard scrums, but it's always been the games against nonfamilial opponents he enjoyed most.
"It was mad competition," Smith said. "It was a lot of fun, but I have more fun playing against people I don't know - (you) get to embarrass them instead."
The embarrassment that Smith doled out helped land interest from Ohio State, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse when his high school days came to an end.
Ohio State offered too early. Pitt didn't impress much and Smith just didn't like Notre Dame. That left WVU and SU left to battle for Smith's services, a fight that the Mountaineers had won until the last round.
In fact, a number of recruiting Web sites at the time said Smith was all but assured to wear the blue and yellow.
"I was up there almost every week," Smith said. "I loved their coaches, but Syracuse was more of a powerhouse coming into this. I had the same opportunity at both schools, but I decided to come to Syracuse."
In the meantime, Ohio State has won a national championship and West Virginia has appeared in three straight bowl games.
Syracuse must win out this season to avoid making Smith's senior class the first since 1974 to not have one winning season at SU.
Chances are likely Smith won't be able to avoid that losing fate, but don't mistake him for a lack of effort.
"That's what I plan on doing," Smith said earlier this season about SU winning out. "That's why I came here, the winning tradition. I don't want to be the first class to break the chain."
Living on a property more than 5 acres large, the Smith boys found plenty of time to hone their skills once their actual games came to an end.
"There have been times when in high school they played Liberty (an opposing school)," Homer Smith said, "and there was a dispute in the game and the Liberty kids played the Hubbard kids in the backyard to settle the dispute. It was the place where the neighborhood kids came to play football from forever."
It's surprising opposing players chose to play Smith extracurricularly, considering he totaled 12 interceptions, 3,262 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns in his junior and senior years of high school.
Smith liked the backyard scrums, but it's always been the games against nonfamilial opponents he enjoyed most.
"It was mad competition," Smith said. "It was a lot of fun, but I have more fun playing against people I don't know - (you) get to embarrass them instead."
The embarrassment that Smith doled out helped land interest from Ohio State, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse when his high school days came to an end.
Ohio State offered too early. Pitt didn't impress much and Smith just didn't like Notre Dame. That left WVU and SU left to battle for Smith's services, a fight that the Mountaineers had won until the last round.
In fact, a number of recruiting Web sites at the time said Smith was all but assured to wear the blue and yellow.
"I was up there almost every week," Smith said. "I loved their coaches, but Syracuse was more of a powerhouse coming into this. I had the same opportunity at both schools, but I decided to come to Syracuse."
In the meantime, Ohio State has won a national championship and West Virginia has appeared in three straight bowl games.
Syracuse must win out this season to avoid making Smith's senior class the first since 1974 to not have one winning season at SU.
Chances are likely Smith won't be able to avoid that losing fate, but don't mistake him for a lack of effort.
"That's what I plan on doing," Smith said earlier this season about SU winning out. "That's why I came here, the winning tradition. I don't want to be the first class to break the chain."
