Follow Your Dreams
November 08, 2010 | Football
Nov. 8, 2010
Originally printed Oct. 16, 2010 in the First and Goal football game program
By Sarah Fetters,
Assistant Director of Media Relations
A little over two years ago, I was hired as an intern for the East Carolina Athletics Media Relations department. My first on-the-job activity was getting a head shot taken for the football media guide. On July 1, 2008, I got in the car and was soon joined by a football player who also needed to get his picture taken - Josh Smith.
I came to ECU after graduating from Wittenberg University, a Division III school in Springfield, Ohio. While my Tigers own more football victories than any other D3 school in the nation and went 27-14 during my four years while adding another North Coast Athletic Conference championship to the case, Smith, then 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, was hands down the biggest player I had ever met face-to-face. (A week later I met Linval Joseph - then 6-foot-6, 300 pounds - and had a whole new frame of reference!)
After we were done and I got back to the office, I learned Smith was getting his mug shot taken late because he joined the team as a walk-on during the spring practice session.
Now fast forward to the 2010 season opener against Tulsa. I was sitting in the press box, looking down at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium's field and calling out ECU's defensive starters. At one of the end spots was Smith, who received his first career starting nod as a Pirate. Smith earned his reward after originally committing to ECU, then de-committing and attending the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R.I., and Western Carolina University, before returning to Greenville.
"I had originally committed to coach John Thompson here the summer before my senior year of high school," Smith said. "Once coach [Skip] Holtz got here, we talked and he wanted to redshirt me and told me some things I didn't want to hear. I was kind of big-headed at the time."
After de-committing from East Carolina, Smith went to Navy's prep school, where he played football and attended the institution for eight months before transferring to WCU.
"Western Carolina was the only school to offer me a scholarship without any film because they had seen me in high school," Smith said. "The defensive coordinator [Geoff Collins] at the time was great." Unfortunately for Smith, Collins left for Georgia Tech before the season began and Smith did not hit it off with the new coordinator. Smith played in seven games as a top reserve for the Catamounts in 2006, logging 19 tackles with a season-high six against Chowan. After the season he left the program.
"I wasn't even sure if I wanted to play football anymore at all," Smith said. He thought again about East Carolina and after attending the Pirates' 2007 spring game, decided to come to Greenville.
That fall, Smith walked onto the team and made the squad, but had to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations. To make the most of his opportunity, Smith spent the fall and winter focusing on getting bigger and stronger.
"I wasn't allowed to work out with the team, unfortunately," Smith said. "So I had to go to the campus recreation center on my own. I also took a lot of classes so I could get caught up with school as some of my credits did not transfer."
The hard work paid off as he joined the team in the spring of 2008. Smith not only earned a roster position, but a spot on the defensive line's depth chart and the unit's Most Improved Player Award following the spring campaign.
"With some injuries that happened, I had a chance to go in there," Smith said. "It's actually Linval Joseph's fault. I was playing defensive end and he told the coaches to put me at tackle. That's what [then defensive line] Coach Rock [Thomas Roggeman] did and it all went from there."
During ECU's first Conference USA Championship season, Smith played in 11 games as a reserve lineman, booking 18 tackles. He recorded multi-tackle efforts in season-defining victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia as well as the league title game against Tulsa.
"It was awesome," Smith simply said of the 2008 campaign. "During the season, I became so close with the guys. I think they respected me because of the journey I had been on. I had a great time with those guys and they made me realize I did want to play football again. I remembered why I loved the game."
A year later, with the Pirates trying to capture back-to-back league titles, Smith was again a top reserve on a senior-laden defensive line. He booked 26 tackles, including 10 solo hits, and was the unit's third-leading sack producer with 4.0. Against UAB in a pivotal C-USA divisional victory, he tied his then-career-high with five stops and had a personal-best two sacks.
With future NFL Draftees C.J. Wilson and Joseph on the line, Smith still earned the defense's Effort Award after the season and was selected for inclusion into the Victors Club, which is based on weekly performances.
"It was fun last year," Smith said. "It was really exciting knowing the guys trusted me enough to go in there and that the coaches also trusted me enough to put me in and put some weight on my shoulders.
"As much as people say they hate backup roles, it was great for me to get to play behind the guys I was able to. Two of them are in the NFL now so it wasn't bad to be able to watch them. I studied those guys and tried to see what worked for them. I wanted to take advantage of that time."
With the departure of all four starting defensive linemen and with Holtz leaving for South Florida, Smith knew he would have to be even more of a leader in 2010. It is a role he has not taken lightly.
"My daily goals are to just be a better leader," Smith said. "I don't talk as much during games as I do during practice so I strive to get a little better with my sideline presence for the team's sake and because I feel like that will help me throughout my life and in my job."
This season Smith is a regular starter and who through five contests is fifth on the team with 27 tackles. In the season opener against Tulsa, he set a career high with nine stops. The following game versus Memphis he recovered his first career fumble, picking up a loose ball on the Tigers' second play.
"I want to continue to be a good player and one who can be counted on by the coaches," Smith said.
Three years ago, Smith and I both started as relative unknowns. Now he is a counted upon veteran and leader and I'm an assistant director working with the football program. The opportunity to learn, grow and develop under ECU's guidance is something both of us will always be thankful for.
