Due to COVID-19, the recruitment process has changed drastically for all athletes looking to further their education and athletic careers to the next level. Since he picked up a football, senior linebacker Sam Smith’s goal has been to play at the next level.
Smith is a multi-sport athlete as a member of both the varsity football team and varsity baseball team since his freshman year. While he takes the winter to work on strength and conditioning, he stills makes sure to either be throwing a baseball around or shooting layups in the field house.
Smith’s impact on the Kingswood Oxford football team is far from small; many of his fellow teammates state how much he cares about his team. Not only is Smith a natural-born leader, but he also has many roles on the field. “I play linebacker and running back,” he said. “I’ve started at linebacker since I was a freshman, and I played running back last year.”
Smith’s hard work and dedication to football have paid off with his many achievements from all four of his years attending KO. “Sophomore year, I won best defensive player and All Evergreen League,” he said. “In my junior year, I won MVP and again All Evergreen League.” While Smith has many accolades to show his dedication to the sport he loves, he also is a vocal leader on the team. Smith was elected captain his junior year, but due to COVID-19, his team was unable to vote for captains. “You feel the difference when Sam is on the field versus when he is not on the field,” senior Rasheed Patterson said. “He just brings a different type of energy onto the field.”
Smith has always known he wanted to play football in college, but as a result of COVID-19, many aspects of recruiting have changed. A little more than 7% of high school athletes play college sports, whether it is at the DI, DII, or DIII levels. With COVID-19 canceling almost all college sports for the fall, the NCAA has created a window for many college athletes to repeat a year, giving them an extra year of eligibility to play their desired fall sport. The effect of this new rule is very stressful for many high school athletes wishing to be recruited. Many colleges are not looking for anyone in the class of 2021; instead, they have skipped on to the class of 2022. With this information, Smith still pursued the possibility of playing college football.
“The recruiting process hasn’t been the best,” Smith said, “since COVID impacted all recruiting. A bunch of schools do not know if they have a spot for you on the team due to many college kids wanting to repeat a year and play.”
Smith, with all these factors, has still pushed and worked hard, trying to find the best college fit for him. He is starting to see the hard work pay off with offers from Central Connecticut State University’s DI program, Stonehill College’s DII program, and four NESCAC DIII offers, including Trinity College.
Smith hopes to find the right academic and athletic fit for himself. If all works out, he hopes to major in communications or economics. “I would like to be a sports analyst or broadcaster,” he said,” maybe even coach football.” Smith will certainly achieve his goals and play football at an elite level not many other athletes are able to.
