OSU’s Enoch Smith Jr. planning to ‘ball’ against father’s alma mater
STILLWATER — Finally having options again, Enoch Smith Jr. scanned the schedules.
Choosing the next step of his football career, Smith studied what paths could lay ahead. He wanted to know who Michigan State, the school he considered a return to after spending his first two seasons there, had on its upcoming schedules. He did the same with Syracuse and Kentucky, other schools he was considering. When he checked Oklahoma State’s, the first opponent of 2018 immediately stood out.
The Cowboys were set to open the year against Missouri State. Enoch Smith Sr. was an all-conference defensive end what was then Southwest Missouri State in 2001.
“I was like, ‘Dad, if we play your school, I’m sorry, I’m gonna have to ball,’” Smith Jr. said.
He’ll try to do that when OSU begins its 2018 campaign against Missouri State at 7 p.m. Thursday. The redshirt senior defensive tackle will have his father in attendance.
Smith Sr. isn’t putting too much stock in his FCS alma mater’s ability to upset a program that’s coming off three straight 10-win seasons, admitting it’ll likely be “a onesided game.”
“I know he’s excited,” Smith Jr. said. “It’ll be like me and my dad playing against each other, but whatever team I’m on, he’s a fan of.”
Conversations between father and son haven’t been completely devoid of trash talk, though.
“I told him, ‘But if I was on the field, it’d be a different story,’” Smith Sr. said in a phone interview.
Smith Sr. played a hefty role in his son’s journey to Stillwater. Smith Jr. didn’t leave Michigan State until late August 2016, and although he tried to spend the season at Butler Community College, he arrived too late to be eligible to play.
I know he’s excited. It’ll be like me and my dad playing against each other, but whatever team I’m on, he’s a fan of.”
Enoch Smith, Jr.
Instead, he returned home to Chicago and spent the academic year at Kennedy-King College, about seven minutes from his family’s apartment on the South Side. Unable to play football, he trained at his father’s sports performance clinic, Starts Up Front, and worked a part-time job as a Dick’s Sporting Goods cashier.
“You’re on your feet for eight hours straight,” Smith Jr. said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, nah, this not for me . ... I’d much rather be in practice than doing this right now.’”
Smith Jr. took the job so he could have his own money rather than borrowing his parents’. His father, a minister, provided him constant words of encouragement from the Bible. Smith Jr. called Smith Sr. “the biggest inspiration in my life.”
“For him to really realize that, ‘If I was to lose football and not move forward and put my best foot forward, this would be my everyday life experience,’ I think that was a wake-up call for him,” Smith Sr. said. “He felt the need that, ‘I need to get back to school, and I really need to get this degree. I need to train myself during the offseason so I can be what I need to be.’”
Shortly after leaving Michigan State, Smith Jr. began communicating with OSU defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements through Twitter. By December 2016, he was committed to the Cowboys and made the 12-hour drive south to Stillwater the following fall.
“When I got here, I saw the lights on at the stadium,” Smith Jr. said. “It made me feel good because I had the opportunity to play college football again.
“It was a long drive, but it was worth it.”
He quickly fit in once he arrived, with fellow defensive tackle Darrion Daniels calling him “an instant brother.” Defensive end Jordan Brailford said Smith Jr. provides energy with his sense of humor, often impersonating cartoon characters.
When opportunity came late last season after Daniels suffered an injury, Smith Jr. capitalized, recording 3.5 tackles for loss in the Cowboys’ final three games.
Thursday, he’ll try to build on that strong finish with his dad cheering for him instead of the Bears.
“I’m all Pokes,” Smith Sr. said. “When he plays ’em, of course it’s my alma mater, but I’ll be orange power.”