Smith Ready for Leading Role

Senior cornerback Justin “JoJo” Smith has not always been the man making the tackles.

“They called me the ‘pile-on king’ in peewee football, because I’d be the last one to the pile, and I’d just jump on, even after the whistle was blown,” Smith said. “I never made a tackle, but I would always be on the pile, just so I could get in on the action. Now, I laugh at that when I make a play. I don’t jump on the pile anymore.”

While Smith may not have been the team’s standout star, to his credit, he was playing out of his league. His football debut happened just shortly after his sixth birthday, when he began practicing with his 10 year-old brother’s team.

“My brother played, and I just wanted to do whatever he was doing, so my parents were able to sign me up. I was able to practice with my brother’s team all the time, even though I was four years younger,” he said. “I wore football pants that went down to my ankles.”

His parents’ support has been unwavering.

Smith’s enthusiasm and commitment, evident even as a child, led him to success. He was recruited to play for Columbia as a running back, but he switched his position in college on the coach’s advice. Although Smith was not able to play football his freshman year because of a broken foot, he played in eight games the next year. Last year, he started nine of 10 games as he grew more and more effective as a cornerback. He recorded 41 tackles for the season and forced two fumbles. After such a productive year, the team has high expectations for his performance this season.

Smith’s brother, Dwight, went on to play defensive back at Miami of Ohio. JoJo attended Chaminade-Julienne High School in Ohio and was captain of the state champion football team during his junior year. Unsurprisingly, many of JoJo’s teammates also went on to play football for dominant college teams.

“My high school running back is a starter at Michigan State, another one is a starting safety at Michigan,” Smith said. “A number of guys went to a number of Big 10 schools or other major Division 1A scholarship programs,” Smith said.

Despite the successes of his teammates, Smith had a much more difficult time acquiring football scholarships. One of the hurdles to his success as a college athlete was that many Division 1A programs looked over Smith because of his height and weight. Now as a 5-foot-6-inch, 160-pound defensive back, Smith is still one of the shortest players not only in his position, but playing in the Ivy League.

His height directly impacted his chances for recruitment. When athletic scholarships are given out deliberately to attract big-name players, many schools would rather spend their money on recruits who are large and also less likely to get injured or pushed around on the field.

“I always wanted to play D1A scholarship ball, but I was told by a lot of these programs that I was too short or too light to play,” Smith said. “But I talked to some of my buddies who got scholarships to those schools, and they have ended up quitting the teams. I don’t have any regrets about coming here, and I’m excited about the opportunities this season.” he said.

It turned out that Smith’s biggest obstacle to playing college football—his stature—became his motivation and produced a player who not only worked hard, but made a point to prove himself on every down.

“When I came here, I wanted to play,” Smith said. “I just showed up for the workouts—Dad always told me that 80 percent of life is showing up, and 20 percent is taking care of business when you get there.”