OL Smith has the leverage to succeed

Hoping to 3-peat this year, Smith puts in the work.

Dashawn Smith has been playing football since Gr. 5. He started playing with the Halifax Argos and found a passion in a sport he could do for years to come. He is currently in his senior year for the Citadel Phoenix who sits at 6-1 in the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation league.

The Phoenix are tied for first in the Scotia Tier 1, Division 1, but have had to work hard to get here. A traditional powerhouse in Halifax, Citadel boasts of some of the best high school football players in Nova Scotia. Smith has worked hard to be a part of that tradition.

In Gr. 10, Dashawn won the Rookie of the Year award and it looked like this was a great start for the young OL, but in Gr. 11 he suffered a torn ACL and had to take off the year to rehab the injury. However, throughout that year, Smith remained an integral part of the team as he continued to work hard and was present at every practice and at every game to show his support and his commitment and won the Coaches Award.

“In grade 10, I won rookie of the year and in grade 11, I had a torn ACL so I didn’t play that year, but I still won the coaches award because I showed up to every practice and every game.”

#68 Dashawn Smith

Being an offensive lineman, you need to be physical, tough, and cerebral. Smith brings all those tools to the table and more. “I just get to push people around and play a really physical style of play and, because I’m shorter, I have a leverage advantage on defensive lineman and helps me power through them.” 

Smith doesn’t just have aspirations on the field, he wants to go to post secondary school and has expressed interest in law. “I want to go to school for my law degree so I’ll take either a political science or a sociology degree before I do law school. I do want play at the next level of football also.” 

The next level involves a recruiting process which Dashawn says has been good so far. While the Gr. 11 injury set him back a little, he has been working hard to get back that interest that was shown to him during his Gr. 10 year.

“The recruitment process has been good. Grade ten is when I really started to get noticed and then when I got hurt, it dropped a bit. Now that I’m back, I’ve been getting lots of looks and I’m keeping my options open until the season’s over. Also, since I’m shorter than most O-linemen are, it depends on how big the schools want you to be.”

Smith has not made any decisions about where this next step will land him, but he is open to to a few schools. “I have not committed anywhere yet, but I am considering McMaster, StFX, Queen’s, York, Bishop’s, Carleton, SMU, Acadia, and Ottawa.” He has yet to go on any official visits, but states that he has a few lined up.

It’s not easy making the jump from high school to post secondary football. When asked how well he will adjust to that next level, Smith believes that he will adjust well and to the differences in the game on all aspects.

“I think I’ll be able to adjust well to the next level and the change of play/style from high school to university.”

He will have to be prepared for all these changes not just on the field, but off the field as well. Dashawn will be working on improving his physical fitness and speed. “Going to improve speed and my body to get more fit and faster because I have always been fast for my size, but I just want to be fast in general.” 

This well rounded football player says that football means everything to him. His friends encouraged him to play at the start and he has never looked back. A passion was planted deep within and it has continued to grow into the thing that he loves playing the most.

“Football means everything to me, a place where I can go out and just do what I want to do and play the sport I love. I started playing football because all my friends played it and told me to come play so I tried and it ended up being the sport that I loved playing the most.”

Smith has many people who have influenced him along the way to get to this point. “Coach Tanner, Coach Beedie, my uncle, and my girlfriend are very influential people in my life and would help whenever I needed anything and also support me a lot for football.”  The support that Dashawn has is an important factor that has allowed him to overcome adversity (injury) and to keep going and working hard.

“I try to work hard in everything I do because football teaches me how to work hard, never give up, and always chase your dreams. I just try to work hard at everything.” 

Come gameday, Dashawn will be chowing down on pasta with alfredo sauce before he goes out on the field and unleashes that toughness to overcome his opponent and get the victory.

 

Dashawn Smith
OL/FB
6’0, 260lbs

Team(s): Halifax Argos, Citadel high school
Considerations: McMaster University, StFX, Queen’s, York, Bishop’s, Carleton, SMU, Acadia, Ottawa
Official Visits: none
Commitment: none
Class: 2018

 

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