One of my coaches told me I had a one-in-a-million chance to play at the college level. – Tyrone Smith
SALT LAKE CITY — Near the end of Tyrone Smith’s sophomore year, he was contentedly resigned to the idea that his football career would end on a high school football field.
“By the time I got to the end of my sophomore year in high school, I knew I wasn’t going to play football in college,” he said. “One of my coaches told me I had a one-in-a-million chance to play at the college level.”
That statement might discourage most teenagers struggling to see the life-long value of social studies and math classes. But Smith, one of Utah’s most promising young receivers, said it was part of what helped change the course of his life.
“He was really trying to motivate me,” said the freshman, who recalled being singled out by two different coaches for his performance in fall camp. “He was really hard on me. He put me in his class, actually, because he wanted me to be around him so he could show me a better way. One day I was a little off, and he told me, ‘You have a one-in-a-million chance to go to play football at the college level.’ He believed in me. That’s what motivated me.”
Smith acknowledges there were a host of other adults – teachers, coaches both in high school and on the University of Utah staff, as well as his grandmother, Veronica Spicer – who played significant roles in him earning a spot on the Utes’ roster this spring.
But maybe most important in him finding success was his innate desire to tackle a challenge. Like a lot of football players, there is nothing the Fresno native enjoys more than turning doubters into believers.
“I love a challenge,” he said smiling. “(My coach) had to know that. He found a way to get through my mind and it worked.”
Smith said he’d always struggled in school because he didn’t understand the practical implications of an education.
“I feel like situations off the field, well, there was nobody telling me to do this or do that,” he said. “As a young kid, you really don’t have that fight to do work unless you understand why. You don’t understand, ‘What am I doing this for if I’m not going to college.’ You don’t see the reason.”
College football was a fantasy.
“I never thought I would play at the college level,” he said, acknowledging that coaches told him he was talented enough from a very young age. “It as just something we (he and his friends) talked about.”
His academic struggles made it seem impossible.
Even as he began to work toward the goal of playing college football by following a plan created by his teachers and coaches, he said it was always more of a dream than a reality.
His mom tried to warn him that he wouldn’t even graduate high school if he didn’t find a way to focus on academics. Her pleas did not persuade him.
“My mom didn’t graduate high school because she was (pregnant) with me,” he said. “We really didn’t have too many people around me who did that. I said, ‘You didn’t finish high school, so why are you always on me?’ And she said it’s not about what she did.”
Smith was talented enough that he received some interest from colleges as an underclassman. The 18-year-old had just 20 catches for 437 yards as a senior, but it wasn't his ability that dissuaded coaches from pursuing him.
“People looked at me early, but then just faded off because of my grades,” Smith said. “(My parents cared) but I really didn’t have a male role model to really show me the same path.”
Smith, who moved in with his grandmother a few years ago, was headed out to the football field to work out one day when some of his teammates were preparing to work out with Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah and former Utah coach Ilaisa Tuiaki, who now coaches at Oregon State.
“They told me to come work with them, so I did,” he said. “My grades were bad, so I knew they wouldn’t look at me. They told me they liked my footwork and liked my hips, and they said, ‘We could use a frame like yours on the defense.’”
Between his high school coaches and Shah, Smith said he was shown a step-by-step plan of what he needed to do to get himself ready to play on the collegiate level.
“I thought, ‘Why not take a chance?’” he said. “I had nothing to lose. I just focused on my grades, and I ended up here.”
He said that as he worked harder, he began to see the rewards and the reasons.
“When I started seeing progress, I started seeing the future,” he said. “Once I started seeing my grades rise, that was a blessing. When I got to a 3.0, I was like, ‘This is easy as long as I put my mind to it.’ Everything takes time. It took me doing it over and over, and once I did it, it was easy.”
He started to understand what hard work could offer as he looked at the lives of those around him. He also moved in with his grandmother, Veronica Spicer, who is a working college student herself.
“That fight that my grandma has, that kind of showed me, it’s never too late,” he said. “I asked her questions when I was in high school, and she would tell me, ‘You have to stay up on this. You have to do the work.’ She does it every night. Even if she has to stay up until 3 in the morning, she still gets up at 6 a.m.”
He felt guilty complaining when he saw how hard she and his mother worked to take care of him.
“My grandma and my mom, they’ve been through a lot,” he said. “At the end of the day, they found a way to keep a roof over my head and that’s all that really matters. So I just apply that to school.” *
Smith found that as he applied himself to his classes, he actually enjoyed learning. But even when he was enrolled at the U. and participating in spring camp, his dream still felt out of reach.
Smith's friendships with some of the players, especially one who graduated, along with fellow junior receiver Tyler Cooperwood, strengthened him through early adjustments.
“I was frustrated when I first got here,” Smith said, noting that he was struggling to learn the plays. “That made me feel like I wasn’t part of the team too because I wasn’t getting everything down as fast as everyone else. I was kind of frustrated and I was upset. (Cooperwood) told me, ‘You got to put in the time off the field.’ He showed me that there are better ways to do everything. Still to this day he gets on me because he expects more from me.”
Smith, who will turn 19 the day Utah opens the 2015 season, said he felt uncomfortable and out of place for months.
“When I came out here, I felt unsure,” said Smith, who spent last fall as a grayshirt while he completed work to become academically eligible. “I felt like I still wasn’t here. I felt like I wasn’t really part of the program. It’s just how I’d felt for so many years. I really didn’t notice a difference until summer conditioning.”
That’s when he began to feel confident on and off the field.
“That’s when I really started buying into the program and understanding what it means to be a Ute,” he said. “I felt like I was part of the team.”
Smith was singled out by several coaches in both spring and fall camps. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said Smith's preparation has given him an edge.
“He’s a good player and he had a good spring,” Roderick said. “He’s improved a lot. He’s smart. He’s versatile. He’s tall and long, but he can play inside or out. And he’s smart enough. He’s learned the whole offense already. As a freshman, he’s ready to play. He’ll help us.”
Smith smiles when asked about his progress.
“It actually feels like a dream because I dreamed about being in games so much,” he said, adding that he hopes to be an example to his 7-year-old twin brothers about life’s possibilities.
“I actually think about it a lot. At the end of the day, I’m going to just have fun. That’s the way I’m going to look at it — like I’m outside playing football with my friends having fun. That’s it.”
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