Will Smith Jr. thanks God, his family, coaches, teammates and many others for helping him reach this point in his football career.
Buy Saints TicketsHe’s excited to get started with Ohio State and begin his tenure as a Buckeye. pic.twitter.com/yI8JvNjsPf
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) December 21, 2022
Now this is really cool. Will Smith Jr. is following in his late father’s footsteps, having signed with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Smith Jr. is a four-star recruit for the 2023 class; the elder Smith earned All-American honors at Ohio State before being selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 2004 NFL draft. He helped the team win Super Bowl XLIV and usher in the brightest era of Saints football in franchise history, but was tragically slain in a 2016 shooting.
But Smith’s family has gone on to carry on his legacy, and now one of his children will be representing him at his old stomping grounds. Smith Jr. described the decision to sign with the Buckeyes as an “easy call” given his father’s history with Ohio State. He plays defensive line just like his dad did, and he’s eager to get to work.
And, hey, we can’t rule out the possibility of Smith Jr. ending up in New Orleans someday. The Saints have made no secret of the value they put on draft prospects coming out of Ohio State — their roster is littered with former Buckeyes like Chris Olave, Pete Werner, Marshon Lattimore, Bradley Roby, and Michael Thomas.
Maybe Smith Jr. joins them someday. For now, we’ll wish him well in his studies at Ohio State and look for him when the Buckeyes hit the field next fall. Good on him for taking his football journey to the next level.
