MABEN — Von Smith thought he could handle playing quarterback.
It was just a matter of proving to others he could to the job.
So after starting his youth football career as a wide receiver, Smith graduated to quarterback when he moved up to middle school ball.
It didn’t take him long to find his niche.
Now, coming off a solid junior season as quarterback of the West Oktibbeha County High School football team, Smith is focused on ending his prep career on the highest note possible.
Smith threw for 2,536 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 244 yards and seven scores to help the Timberwolves advance to the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A South State playoffs.
For his accomplishments, Smith is The Dispatch’s Small Schools Offensive Player of the Year.
“I have taken a big step forward,” Smith said. “Starting off, I wasn’t a really good quarterback. I am not the best I want to be right now. I just work hard, try to stay humble, and do the best I can do.”
At 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, Smith is far from the biggest athlete when he takes the field. He makes up for his lack of size with a powerful arm and an elusiveness that helps him scamper out of the pocket and to make throws on the move.
Smith earned All-Star accolades at wide receiver in youth football, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to switch positions. He learned in a spread system that featured some I-formation and some Wildcat looks and battled his friend, Tiberias Lampkin, for the starting spot. Smith won the race in the gym to take the position.
“I really wanted it because when coach put the competition up for us to race, I was saying, ‘I have to win this for myself,’ ” Smith said. “I beat him running and we started off running plays at junior high practice every fifth period and I was getting better and better.”
Smith saw some playing time as an eighth-grader and took over as a freshman at West Oktibbeha High and has been there ever since.
Lowrey took the advice of Dwight Quinn, who was quarterback at the time, and looked into the possibility of moving Smith to quarterback. He said the coaches started at the center and moved out to fill every position. Their goal was to find the best player at each position.
When Lowrey got to quarterback, he realized Quinn was a decent thrower but the team couldn’t run the ball. He said Smith’s skills fit well with Lampkin and Josh Poe as blockers and Aaron Brownlee, Drake Powell, and Quinn as receivers. The quick-hitting spread passing attack helped protect Smith because the Timberwolves didn’t have a lot of size up front.
In the past few years, he said Smith has matured as a quarterback and has learned how to read defenses and to get the ball to the right players to make plays.
“When I started I was second-guessing myself and wondering if this was going to work,” Smith said. “I just wanted to get the football and to throw the football.”
Smith wasn’t sure if he was what Lowrey needed at the position, but he feels more comfortable behind center, even when defense think West Oktibbeha is going to throw the ball.
“I like to throw the ball a lot,” Smith said, “and I like to have lots of passing yards after every game. I like to keep the defense on its toes.”
Lowrey said Smith learned how to manage his emotions better this season. In years past, he said Smith would get so agitated he wouldn’t be to suggest plays to Lowrey when the coach asked for his input.
“I saw him grow as a young man to be able to take adversity,” Lowrey said. “It is going to be his show (next season).”
Smith said he enjoys incorporating a fast-paced style of offense a la the University of Oregon. He said the Timberwolves enjoy controlling the pace by getting to the line of scrimmage quickly, scanning the defense, and trying to exploit mismatches. Smith said the execution the Timberwolves polish in practice helps them execute a variety of routes.
Smith hopes to get bigger and stronger following basketball season in hopes of taking his play as quarterback to the next level.
“I am going to hop in the weight room and train like I never trained and work hard like I have never worked hard,” Smith said. “This year isn’t going to be fun. It is going to be all about business for me.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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