Evan Smith '23 Recruiting Profile

The unsung hero. That was the award my football coach gave to me at the end of the 2015 season. At first, I wasn’t sure if I should even be proud of that. But the more I thought about the meaning behind it, the more I understood why this was the perfect description of me that season. I was a 7^th grade quarterback on an 8^th grade team. Not exactly the player that my older teammates looked up to. I had to prove to them, and my coaches, that I deserved to be their starting quarterback. But telling them I am ready and actually showing them I am ready are two totally different things.

I made it my mission to work harder than any other player on that team and be the first one to compliment a play well done or raise their spirits when it didn’t go our way.  That season, I learned that to be a true leader of a team involves more than just claiming that you are. You must show those around you by your actions. Putting the accomplishments of the team ahead of my own. Doing my job to the best of my ability without looking for praise. Earning the trust of everyone on that field. Staying focused and leading by example was what was most important. Being the unsung hero was the title I earned and wore proudly that year...And, at the end of the very next season, I was the offensive MVP.