On Dec. 18, Huntingtown senior Anthony Smith signed his national letter of intent to play NCAA Division I football at North Carolina State University next fall, but his journey to commit to playing Division I football was not on anyone’s radar until this past year.
“I started playing football when I was 7 years old,” Smith said. “I used to live in Virginia, so I started playing football out there. Football means a lot to me. I just love the sport and love playing it.”
Growing up, Smith played youth football, but was always undersized, according to his father, Everick Powell.
“[Anthony] has always been small, so that was probably one of the drawbacks that made him apprehensive about playing football was his size,” Powell said. “He was a late sprouter.
In youth football, Powell had the chance to coach Smith for a few years before he became a fan watching his son from the sidelines offering his input and advice.
“My biggest inspirations are definitely my family,” Smith said. “They help me and guide me to the best I can be.”
Upon moving to Maryland, Smith noted he became known as “the fast guy”, but did not play high school football his first two years while attending Huntingtown High School.
“In ninth grade, Anthony was barely 120 pounds. He was able to play youth ball still at 14-U instead of playing high school,” Powell said. “That was another kind of turning point where he wanted to play freshman football, but he was scared that he was too small. There was a weight limit of 120, and he was able to make weight at ninth grade to play youth still.”
As a sophomore at Huntingtown, Smith did not play football and the Hurricanes were coming off of their second consecutive year finishing 2-8.
“In 10th grade, [Anthony] didn’t play football because he didn’t think he had it, once again because of his size,” Powell said. “In 11th grade, we finally encouraged him to get back in.”
With the support and encouragement from his family and friends, Smith decided to go out for the football team as junior under Huntingtown head coach Paul Friel.
“Cameron [Dalrymple] encouraged Anthony to come back out for football. We just told him to keep working at his craft because he was playing behind people,” said Amy Powell, Anthony’s mother. “He is a true testament to what an improbable journey can lead to for someone who may be going through some of the same things he is.”
As a junior, Smith did not see the field much on offense and was mainly just utilized as the Hurricanes’ punter on special teams.
“My recruiting process started off a little slow because I did not have film, which made it hard for coaches to get to know me and see how I play football,” Smith said. “Some coaches were kind of skeptical about giving me an offer, but once I got film they started coming in.”
In his senior season, Smith excelled as a wide receiver for the Hurricanes as “the fast guy” on special teams transitioned into “the fast guy” on the outside making plays downfield for Huntingtown.
“My junior year when I got on the team, we just had a tremendous change,” Smith said. “Then this past year we went 12-1. I am really proud of my team and how we played this year.”
Smith helped lead the Hurricanes to a 12-1 overall record and an appearance in the Class 3A state semifinals for the second consecutive season in which Huntingtown fell to the eventual 3A champion Damascus, 21-14.
Against Damascus, the 6-foot 1-inch 172-pound wideout was able to showcase his speed and talent and scored a touchdown on a career-long reception of 95 yards from Huntingtown senior quarterback Trent Connolly.
“[Damascus] was trying to press me and talking a lot of smack before the game that I couldn’t run routes out of the press. They were trying to press me and I just kept burning them,” Smith said. “I looked at Friel and told him to give me a chance and take a shot down field. He called 32-Sluggo, which is basically just a slant and go. I just burned the defender and caught the ball and went 95 yards to the house.”
Smith finished his senior season with 35 receptions for 918 yards and 14 touchdowns and was an All-County and All-Conference first-team selection. He received offers from four schools, but fell in love with N.C. State.
“I had three offers before N.C. State from Navy, Merrimack and UMass, but I really did not have any other interest that I knew of at least from other schools,” Smith said. “Once N.C. State offered and that was the biggest school I had, I just fell in love with the campus and coaches and I committed.”
Smith credits running track and field in helping him with his speed on the football field.
“I feel like track absolutely helped me to keep my speed up for football,” Smith said. “Without track and without my track coach, I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am today with football.”
Last spring, Smith was the Class 3A South Region champion in the high jump, clearing 6 feet 3 inches, and ran the anchor leg on a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference champion 800-meter relay team.
Saturday at the Howard County Winter Festival which took place at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Smith finished first in the high jump with a leap of 6-4 as well as the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.43 seconds, a time that is in the top three in the country.
“Track was kind of the thing that springboarded him into having great seasons in football with the high jump, sprints and relays,” Everick Powell said.
Smith is excited for the chance to compete for the Wolfpack in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“[N.C. State] was my first Power 5 [conference] offer, and I always felt that I had the skill set to play at a high level,” Smith said. “For N.C. State to give me a chance to prove myself means a lot to me.”
Twitter: @johnniswander2
