For Chris Smith, the arrival of the mail on a chilly December day was a time to rejoice.
The FedEX package, which contained Smith’s letter of intent to play football at Northern Illinois University was evidence of the fruits of his labor.
“I knew I would not quit working,” said Smith, a Palmetto native. “School is hard for me, but I knew I wanted to play at a Division I school, so I didn’t quit. I never quit anything.”
This past season, Smith led a meager Highland Community College team in Kansas with six interceptions. He also collected 41 tackles, forced two fumbles, and blocked a kick.
Yet, Smith’s road to major college football was never smooth.
Following a squabble with former Palmetto High football James Haynes during the 2004 season, Smith, was relegated to a reserve defensive back role as a senior and rarely made it onto the field.
“I was pretty good, but I really could show it,” he said. “I still had four interceptions that season.”
He wasn’t recruited coming out of high school. To make matters worse, he failed the reading portion of the FCAT, and dropped out of high school to study for his General Equivalency Diploma, which he eventually passed, in June of 2005.
His twin brother, Donald, wasn’t successful with the reading section of the FCAT and received his GED as well.
“I wanted to walk with my senior class, but I couldn’t,” Smith said. “It bothered me, but I couldn’t change it, so I tried not to worry about it.”
The dream of playing college football never faded for Smith, and fate intervened.
Tigers coach Raymond Woodie, hired following the 2005 season, called a connection at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and Smith was signed the next day.
When Smith arrived in Iowa, he was switched to wide receiver, but his chance to display his talent was put on hold. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Smith was told newcomers don’t start over second-year players. He became a bit discouraged with being redshirted, especially after all of the effort it took to get there.
Smith’s hope of playing football on a full-time basis was stalled again, but he was patient.
“I was the rawest receiver up there, too,” said Smith, the older brother of former Palmetto standout quarterback Bryan Smith. “They said a first-year player couldn’t start over a second-year player, so I sat out, and came back the next year and started at receiver.”
His struggles continued in the classroom. Athletics come easier to Smith than academics.
“A lot of times, I was about to stop going to school,” Smith said. “School is hard for me, but I said I wasn’t going to stop.”
After several coaches left Ellsworth CC last season, Smith transferred to Highland CC in the spring of 2008, and switched back to defensive back.
“That’s my best position,” he said.
He was a nice addition to a Scotties team which went 1-8 and has a tradition of losing.
“Chris was a great player and great kid,” Highland coach Mike Beagle said. “He has effortless speed. He’s aggressive. He adds another dimension because you can lock him up on a wide receiver, and then he’s dangerous as a (kick) return guy. He’s the kind of guy who’s focused on what he needs to do.”
He was also focused on receiving his Associates of Arts degree. He achieved that goal last month.
Smith starts classes at NIU on Jan. 12 and plans to major in sports management. Donald Smith will join Chris in DeKalb, Ill. as a walk-on.
Huskies coaches told Chris he can be a starter next season if he works hard enough. It’s obvious they don’t know his story.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself though all of this,” Smith said. “I learned that I can get things done. I just kept trying. Now I’m here, and it’s time to get off.”
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