8/20/2002 - Football
Navy Football Practice Report Day 13, Practice 20
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Sophomore safety Josh Smith
Q. I understand you pretty much rewrote the record book in Indiana as a running back.
A. I played offense and defense. I was better on defense, but I was known more for my offense. My senior year I ended up with 3,004 yards rushing.
Q. What size school is Attica?
A. It?s a pretty small school. There were only 80 people in my graduating class. We were one of the smallest schools in Indiana.
Q. Where is Attica located?
A. Right near Lafayette, where Purdue University is located.
Q. Did you touch the ball on almost every snap or was it a balanced offense?
A. It wasn?t really a balanced offense, I got the ball the majority of the time, but we did have another running back that rushed for 800 yards and our quarterback threw for over 1,000 yards. We were a pretty explosive team and had some talented guys for a school our size.
Q. Now are you the all-time leading rusher in Indiana?
A. No, I led the state in rushing my senior year and I?m sixth all-time in rushing. I set the scoring record for the state of Indiana for one season and I scored the second most points in a season by any player in the country all-time. I missed the record by five points.
Q. How many touchdowns did you score?
A. My senior year I scored 47 or 48. I don?t quite remember.
Q. But you said you were a better defensive player.
A. I thought I was. That?s what I took a lot of my pride in. I didn?t get many breaks in a game, but when I did I made sure it wasn?t on defense. We took a lot of pride in our defense.
Q. What position did you play in high school?
A. Outside linebacker
Q. What kind of a record did you guys have?
A. My senior year we went 14-1 and lost the State Championship game.
Q. Did you play only small schools during the season?
A. No, we played a couple of bigger schools, but not many. During the playoffs you only played against your class.
Q. Did you also play basketball?
A. Yes, I almost went and played basketball at a couple of other places. My senior year we won state. I thought about trying out here, but I?m not sure yet.
Q. What are some of the schools you considered for basketball?
A. Purdue talked to me about playing football and basketball, but they wanted me to walk-on. West Virginia talked to me about playing basketball during the state tournament, but I had already committed here.
Q. Was West Virginia a scholarship opportunity?
A. In the tournament one of their coaches came up to me and asked If I was committed anywhere and I said yes and he said he was sorry to hear that, that they would like for me to go to school there.
Q. Did you have any second thoughts about coming here after attracting the interest of some bigger schools to play basketball?
A. My whole high school career I got up at 6 a.m. and got in the weight room to lift, I always had a military lifestyle. I disciplined myself in high school. I thought this was the perfect place for me.
Q. Had you always considered the Naval Academy?
A. I had never even heard of the Naval Academy until the football coaches started talking to me about football.
Q. Who recruited you?
A. Sammy Steinmark.
Q. Did you have anyone in your family that was in the military?
A. Not really. My dad was enlisted in the Army for a couple of years, but not long.
Q. When you came here were you recruited as a running back or a linebacker?
A. They kind of gave me a choice between running back and defensive back. I figured I would have a better chance as a defensive back, because I didn?t have the blazing speed I needed to play running back. I had never played defensive back in my life so last year was an adjustment for me.
Q. Let me ask you about your rise on the depth chart. In the words of one of your coaches you came out of nowhere. What?s been the difference for you? Just experience?
A. Pretty much. I really didn?t learn a lot last year. I learned a lot in the spring when the new coaches came in. They really didn?t work with the freshman much last year. This spring I just started seeing what I had to do and I did it.
Q. You came here direct?
A. Yes
Q. What do you think about your position on this football team right now and your expectations.
A. I haven?t really thought about it. All I?m thinking about is helping the team out that?s what I want to do.
Q. Can you play both safety positions?
A. I can play both and also can play the nickel back.
