S3 Episode 1: Always Been Like This

teams and cities. In these ten episodes, we'll hear firsthand personal experiences from behind the scenes at one of history's most unique NFL drafts, in person in Cleveland and at home and in living room and even in cabins all across the country. Airbnb to cabin up in Big Bear right off the lake, and he's like, Hey, I'm about to be there. What daughter I come in? Well, there's ten tho people in front of the door. So I have no idea. This is a once in a lifetime

Like literally, this is never ever gonna happen again. You know, I only have one shot. We'll hear from the players, their friends, family, coaches, teammates, and agents at Clutched Sports Group, including Clutch Sports founder and CEO Rich Paul. My kids asked me, I'll be flying commercial private now. I'm like, where are y'all getting this stuff from? At least take in Delton. From the college football season to the scouting process to the draft itself, this year was anything but

business as usual. Obviously made air Wina, you gotta understand this has been a weird year. I mean, you're doing interviews over zoom. Most people only have like first round grades on like sixteen prospects in the first round. So it's just so much uncertainty with prospects. Even with tens of thousands of fans in Cleveland for the draft, only thirteen players attended in person this year, one of whom is Davante Smith, wide receiver from the University of Alabama.

I'm a black hat on black going low. I go with the blue games to the black bag that one not beside this year large set see the media. DeVante had one of the indisputably greatest seasons in college football history. He won the Heisman Trophy, the National Championship, the m v P of the title Game, and was named the Associated Press Player of the Year, along with almost every other award available to players at his position. Now the most decorated wide receiver in thirty years, waits to find

out his future. He shops for pants and some T shirts at the mall in Cleveland. I can try. I got a pack of white t might be mediums. Might be mediums because I only when my white teeth fresh out the pat one time or nef I'm winning, it's gonna be under another shirt. Come on, man, I think I might go to large. Gaudy stats and a trophy case full of awards still don't fully explain how dominant

Davante was this season. He was named the most valuable player of the championship game against Ohio State, setting records for catches and touchdowns despite only playing about half of the game. He spans Chris Fowler summed it up during

the championship. Touchdown facement cannot restop he truly special performance by the higspand trophy wedner three touchdowns in the first half, and despite Davante's all inspiring performance throughout the entire year, NFL scouts and draft analysts only want to talk about the one question he's asking himself right now, Can he

really fit into a medium? They meet him on a large the tea a medium, Davante is listed at six ft even and one hundred and seventy pounds, and for a variety of reasons, those are the only numbers NFL teams seem to care about when discussing his draft prospects, not the one hundred and seventeen catches last year for over eight hundred yards and twenty three touchdowns, or the nearly four thousand yards receiving and forty six touchdowns he

piled up over his college career. Teams openly question how good he'll be as a pro because they don't think he's big enough. In other words, they think you can't be a great receiver in the NFL unless you wear a large or an extra large. So as Davante gets back to his hotel, he constantly has to watch and listen to news stories like these on his phone, and the conversation about him is his weight being a book sixty six and whether not automatically discounts him from being drafted.

There's a difference between size and deal, and DeVante isn't surprised by the doubters, even though he personally caught more touchdowns over the season than the entire Ohio state team, which finished second behind Alabama this past year. Being questioned about his size is nothing new for a guy nicknamed the Slim Reaper. Here's his mom, Christina Smiths Silvh, elaborating he was always a little small, stroony, low key, but as he went on eighth grade football started to be

more of a challenge for him. All of the guys are like bigger than him, so they I'm not gonna say they intimidated him, but it was a challenge. It was a challenge. He wasn't just smaller than the other guys. He was tiny in high school. Here's Vincent Sanders, his long time mentor Barbara and close family friend. He's like a so my freshman year hunt twenty some pounds, you get hit, hit that man painful, you know what I'm saying.

So you're like, I'm small, you know, and so many people like, oh man, you're small, show your So we're seeing in his head too, same way, you know, people talking about it. He's a kid, you know. You know your job as a kid is to respect adult. So you listen to what they're saying. But if a group of don't say you're you're gonna start believing his mind, Christina again, everybody talking about, you know, his way, everyone

doubting him. He tried not to let that get to him mentally, but as a mother, you know, I I know that guy to him, but I think that pushed him, just trying to live up to that standard, just live up to you know. I may be small, but I have the heart of a lion. He wasn't just the smallest guy in the football team either. He was the smallest guy and almost every sport he played in, almost every setting he played in. He was the smallest guy

in the neighborhood. And he always wanted to play with the older guys, and if they didn't pick him, he would get mad and take his basketball of football, and then that would cause a little scuffle. But yeah, he would get into a few scuffles every now and then, and that mouth sometimes would get him. I never backed down for nobody. I don't care who you are, how old you is. This is Davante. I've always been scrapping, Like I stayed in fight when I was young. I

was in trouble maker. I mean I stayed in trouble and things like that growing up. And they meet Louisiana, a real town of about four thousand. He constantly played pickup basketball games at the neighborhood park near his house, often with older kids and his older cousins. Here's Vincent Sanders again on those neighborhood games. Because he was just at his age, so he was like the competition of his age wasn't wasn't competition. So he come out through it.

The big boys. You know what I'm saying. So you might have somebody out the thirty five years old that played college ball. So know what they do. We're talking grown his uncle's cousins. They ain't taking an he drive away who and they like six three six four. Here you are, five s coming through the lane. They're gonna give you what you're looking for. They're getting that elba that time, get up, you ain't you ain't hurt, just

just rules up to get up. Let's go. So he you know him doing that, and they nobody took the knees in on him. He tough, built four, toughest, tough mentally and physically. So even doing his whole life, people felt that like I was not so like they can take advantage of me. That's why I stayed fighting because I always like show like, nah, I ain't the one body, so like you're gonna come over and messing with me, Now we gotta fight. It was just like around here

was just like fight for your respect. If you just let him keep doing it, they're gonna do it. But once you, once you fight, they're gonna respect it. It was one time, well because I had to do that part, just like kept messing when me kept messing with me, Like he told me straight. He was like, either you're gonna fight him or you're gonna fight me. So I fought other dude and just left it at that. Yeah, he did get bullied a little bit. This is DeVante's mom,

Christina once again. But I think it helped him. You know, he knew that he was the smallest kid, but he was determined to play with the bigger kids. So I think that kind of helps shape him and mold him into the person that he is today. I may be the smallest, but hey, I have the heart, I have the drive. I'm gonna I'm gonna stick with it. I want to play, So you know, I think it did help him at you know, some aspects of his life. We'll be right back. DeVante and a member of his

team at Clutch Sports, Carmel Mamalalu. Right back to the hotel in Cleveland. They're on their way to a jersey signing with another football legend. Like a ten or fifteen minute window to do the Today Show. Yeah, I guess film it today, it'll run tomorrow. Yeah, that's what I just told Sean. So what's what's the Today Show? It's like, what is it? Yeah, that's the Morning show Downtown. It's like good morning shots on. Oh I know what you're talking about that I think I know. Oh yeah, yeah yeah.

M For an introverted guy who might not know what the Today Show is, DeVante's life is about to become completely unrecognizable. I'm quiet, I don't like going out. I'm to myself, like play sports, work out ground it. So it was just like that's what I was around, and that's all I could do. So that's wise just been. It's just been what I do. Like his stature, his quiet, humble confidence. It's easy to overlook in a sport full of bigger players and larger than life personalities, especially in

the media climate built on shocking or controversial soundbites. Here's his mom, Christina again, he's not the kid that wants to go out to different parties or whatever. He didn't do that in college. He didn't go to you know, parties or nothing like that. You know. He was more of practice, get something to eat, go back to the apartment. He doesn't think that the recognition is necessary. Like I

tell him, it's nothing wrong with being recognized. They want to recognize you for your performance what you have done. But with him is more of He likes to stay in the background. He really doesn't like all of the attention. But I told him, when you do great things, you get the attention. You know, it's nothing wrong with that. DeVante and Garmet arrived back at the hotel and head upstairs where they meet former Heisman Trophy winner in University

of Michigan great Desmond Howard. He was the last wide receiver to win the award before Davante was going on, good good, how about you appreciate Uh yeah, Roger, Yeah, I had a law yeah. Davante was supposed to meet Roger Goodell in person that morning, but its COVID test came up positive. He had to re test twice and by the time he got the two accurate negatives he'd

missed the meeting. This is part of the unique challenge for the thirteen players in Cleveland and for the NFL, and hosting his first ever hybrid in person and virtual draft. He should probably I'm saying, you got him off, you got him most to go for whatever you want to put on there. They're talking about what message to right in the jerseys. Though, for Davante, this meeting signifies something

much bigger than swapping memorabilia. Howard played eleven NFL seasons, made a Pro Bowl, and was the m v P of Super Bowl thirty one. He still holds the record for the longest return Super Bowl history. And he did all of this at five ft ten and one five pounds. If you went just shorter and only around ten pounds heavier than DeVante, like Marvin Harrison and Tonio Brown and de Sean Jackson, Desmond Howard is proof small receivers can still be stars in the NFL. Here's Davante on that comparison.

It's a blessing to be compared to him, just with everything that he's done, and he's done everything right, So I mean, I'm trying to get where he is right now. So I'm for show. Digg into some of his film, take some of the stuff out of his two box that he has. Remember we did the zoom we when I have my son. Yeah, I got the twin boys. I just always trying to collect these for him, you know what I I mean? Yeah, so this is perfect, my man.

Get out your hair, graduation. Appreciate best of luck. Man, appreciate, Appreciate at the very least, to enjoy yourself. Celebration, celebration. A lot of people, A lot of people in this position. Like that's when Howard says, not many people are ever in the position. Davante finds himself and now twenty four hours from the NFL Draft, exchanging jerseys with other Heisman Trophy winners, booking morning show appearances on the cusp of his dreams coming true, and tens of millions of dollars

heading his way. How many people get here, regardless of where they come from. Even fewer arrived at this moment from towns as small and remote as they meet Louisiana. Here's Davante, and now his small town upbringing shaped his worldview. It at me that ain't nothing to do, so I feel like it's molding me. I mean big though, you guys, Walt Moret, you gotta win, Dick, see what I mean. That's pretty much. You gotta come fast f places, signing Madala stuff like that. But I mean, it ain't nothing

to do. And they meet outside of a lot of sports and stuff like that. But I was by my pops a lot too, So like when I'm home and a meet, it's like sports. When I'm out there by my pop, it's like we in the woods. I had the best of both worlds, just being like exploring nature and stuff like that, like we can squirrel and stuff like that, like we shooting squirrels, just playing around in

the woods and stuff like that. DeVante's parents were no longer together, and he spent most weekends staying with his dad. One specific memory in the Louisiana Biou stands out back when he was barely a teenager playing in the woods with his cousins. I was probably like twelve thirteen, and like it was raining by my pops is like a creek, so like when it rained, like it was a lot, So we was deep in the woods, like this is the first time and last time we ever went by

the creek. Never been back there again. So it's pouring down. Rating water is like knee high, and like when you first get into it, you don't see how flooded it is. So like you're walking for a good little minute and then it's like all of a sudden, just get flooded and we just see how hot the water is. And then like we just started hearing stuff. My older cousin

he like, what's this. I'm I don't hear that. He was like, man, that's that's that's sounding hog, I know sound a hall Farrell hawks in Louisiana can weigh over five hundred pounds and can grow four to five inch long tuss along with sharp pointed teeth that looked like fangs. This is what Davante and his cousins think that we're hearing nearby and the flooded value. So we go to looking and then like we see it, so like everybody don't move, everybody to sit there. So like were just

sitting at the hall with the sit you. He was like, we can't see him for help. We're gonna make the only thing in my mind was you out run one person. You know you you're gonna be good. The last person that's up to you what happened with you and the all. So it was just like on the count of three, everybody take you all running. Nobody knews it because like it's flooded, not so like it's no tracks to show you what what are you're going back to? So it

was just like just right, everybody follows. Somebody just hoped it we end up getting somewhere, so we take off running. I wasn't looking back, but I know Shan wouldn't laughing. Not when when you pick go running for your life from a giant wild hog and a swamp may not directly translate into developing NFL ready speed, but it sure doesn't hurt. It's another example of the smallest guy always

making sure he never got caught. Because DeVante spent his entire youth fighting or fleeing bullies on the playground, the would be tacklers on the gridiron and wild animals in the woods, there's a reason his coach, Nick Saban said he competes as well pound for pound as anybody that I've ever had the chance to coach. Tell many how many receivers are tougher than he is, that block better,

that play more physical than he does. That's high praise coming from the most successful coach in college football history. The question is, will NFL teams be able to look past the size of his jersey and focus on what's underneath it instead? We'll be right act. Becoming the DeVante Smith, who has talked about as a top pick in the NFL Draft, didn't happen by chance, Not when you're the smallest kid who everyone doubts. He had to turn that one and twenty pound high school freshman into the most

dominant player in college football. Here's Clutched Sports founder and CEO Rich Paul describing what he saw when meeting DeVante in Los Angeles for the first time. When I met DeVante for the first time, I knew it. I asked me, I said, you know, what do you want to do if I just want to go? You know, he was in l A. No anything we can help you with, get you you want to see something? Now, I'm good.

You know, we take the meeting, but maybe did somebody eat didn't do a t other shop and didn't want to go look at the cars and direct that, And it's just like not that it is anything wrong with any of that. He just didn't have no interest. I was like, oh, he's serious about football. He's serious about football, which I love, which is why he was so good. Here's his mom, Christina again describing when her son's determination grew even if the rest of his frame didn't keep up.

I knew the talent was there early on, but his sophomore year in in high school is when I knew that Davante had what it took. He had the work ethic, he had the drive and determination. He's always wanted to play in the NFL. That's always been a dream of his. But I really saw it his sophomore year in high school. We live right next to a park, so he would get up and he will go to the park and and run. He had the cones, he had the cape

to put on to help him with his speed. It was like he had whatever he needed to try to get himself better. He did it. He did drills in the park before school, practiced and lifted weights after school, and even developed a routine during the day. I had a time on my phone for like every hour, do thirty push up. So like I'll be in class and like the time I'll go off, like I just do something again, just be like teachers would be like, you can't be you can't be having your phone or on off.

But this high got away with it. It It was like every class is only four to five minutes at the most, so it's only gonna ring once in every class, Like you can't report me for doing push ups. So it was just like it's nothing you can do besides tell me, like, you get up and stop doing this. By by time you do that, I've been at them a thirty hour. So every time ring, I just like my fault. I didn't know, and I just do the push up and

be like I ain't gonna worry about this class. When it first started, they was like, what are you doing? What are you doing? Push us fun? And I'll just be like, oh, I just had to do them real quick. And then like he got to a point like everybody if they knew, like that was a consistent thing, so it was just like just let him do it, so

let him going and get knocked. The way he was so consistent with his mid class push ups, teachers and students all grew accustomed to his alarm going off, him dropping and doing thirty and then going right back to the Pythagorean theorem and the Lord of the Flies. And while he honed his body throughout high school, he also had to develop his killer instinct. He even if that

meant learning to be more selfish. In the final moments of his high school teams playoff basketball game, his seconds off, We're down one and everybody wants me to take the shot, but like trapped me. I had a screen, said someone of the screen came like they trapped me, like someone's wide open. So like I passed it and he didn't shoot it. He passed again like my best friend had shot the ball. He missed, and then he came to me and he was like, man, I don't care if

it was five people. You know you're supposed to take that last shot. And then I was like that stuck with me, and I was just like all right, like forget trying to give it to the old like carst time. I don't care I many people on me. I want to be in that moment like and that stuff with me. Since then they're like five people on the they double me, and he still say, like, you know, that's your shot, because like that's what everybody expect for me. If we

had a hold of right now. Everybody see if I'm taking the last shot, everybody gonna say you just because like that's what you do. So it was just like that moment, always steak with mean. I never let nothing else happened like that again, game on line. I'm telling you right now, give me the ball. I ain't trying to heat with nobody else, gotta say throw me the ball. The very next year, this lesson came into play with a different ball, on a different field and not a

much much bigger stage. It's the college football season and Davante is a freshman receiver at Alabama, playing behind multiple future first round draft picks at wide receiver. The team makes it to the National Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs, and Georgia takes it to the Crimson Tide in the first half. Alabama is down thirteen to zero as they go into the locker room for halftime. Yeah, so freshman, if we're in the game and stuff just wasn't going

our way. So we get the halftime, everybody in locker room like, man, y'all need to get this ship together, and like you can feel the energy of like one person say the role thing somebody go, somebody will get punched. The older guys they didn't play there. It was just like if you weren't listening, like y'all, y'all start fighting, because that's just how they would, like you're gonna listen

or somebody gonna beat you up. It's like everybody's just sitting there just listening to them talk, and it was just we we've been here before, like this, ain't that knew this is what we do. Alabama have played in two previous championship games before this one, so as Davante said, this is what they do. And this time around, the team makes one huge change at halftime. Coach Nick saman decides to sit his starting quarterback and bringing the rookie

quarterback by the name of Tua Tonga Vloa. So it was just like change, like second half like switch, and like everything just started going out wayybody just started battling back. Alabama ties the game and sends it into overtime. In college overtime, both teams get the ball at least once, so they each have a chance to score. We went to overtime like you could tell the like we was ready because you go out there for like the corn toss. Oh them kill their helmets on and people Georgia didn't

have it on. So like when they came back, they was like, man, they ain't ready. The ain't even got their helmets on, like they don't want them more. Something as small as the Georgia players not putting their helmets back on for the coin toss was all Devonte and his teammates needed to see, Like sharks moving in for the kill. They could smell the blood that killer instinct was kicking in. Overtime begins and Georgia receives the ball. First, they kick a field goal, putting them up three points.

Now Alabama gets the ball. If they don't score, they lose. If they kick a field goal, it goes into double overtime, and if they score a touchdown, they win the national championship. After the Alabama quarterback takes their brutal sack on their first play, it's suddenly second and twenty six from the forty one yard line. Alabama needs to do something drastic. Always been ready for moments like that, Like that's moments

that like I want to be in that position. So it was just like we go back to the huddle. We kind of get the clay and I'm like, give me a chance. And I ain't think he was gonna throw it too, but I thought he's gonna look at me and just be like, all right, whatever, man, But I mean he threw it. Fires the touchdown battle ways the true freshman come to Viola to Fonte Smith, Alabama,

right George, your heart. Davante catches the walk off game winning touchdown in the National Championship as a true freshman. Five other receivers on that Alabama team are playing in the NFL right now. Three were first round draft picks, but it's the one hundred and fifty nine pounds freshman who catches the game winner completely untouched, straight out of a Disney movie. Here's Vincent Sanders on that life changing moment when he called the game won the National Championship

as the first one. When I went up to him, was like, hey, you called you? He was like, damn no, man, I missed a block on such and such player. I was like, what you caught the past at one the game and you said on that play, like, what the hell is wrong? Be just kid. He was mad because he messed up on a plate Prior to that, he was upset with his self. I mean he was sitting there with his head now, like come on, dud beast like and I think I said something to him and

like man, stop warning a he was. I think it's a problems. Maybe we could have scored on that point and we had to go to old time or whatever. His mom Christina went together. So yeah, when we did get to see him, I was like, oh, baby, you you caught the game. We didn't touchdown and it was like yeah, And he just said that he didn't do something on one of the plays and I was like, Devonte, do you realize you just caught the Yeah, Mama, I know. It was just like no big deal to him. It

was just another catch. So I mean that's him. He always wants to try to get it right. I tell people this all the time. Every fifteen years you get this, Michael Jordan fifteen years, Kobe fifteen years, but Bra for two years. You started with Lyon swanifteen years, you're right, you go random Moss in the fifteen years Smith, you do them every once in a while. We give that's the difference from an NFL player and a Hall of Fame because you got people in the NFL to go

to Pro Bowl. Do great, take lots of money, but they don't go at all the fame. DeVante Smith won't get go jackets in one more day. All the college accolades will mean nothing, and the next chapter of DeVante Smith's football story will begin. He isn't worried about the teams thinking he's too small or doubting his ability to play at the next level. He's not interested in making TV appearances. We're driving fancy cars or eating five star dinners.

The only thing he cares about is getting a chance to play against the bigger, older kids at the neighborhood park to show everyone it doesn't matter how much you weigh or what size jersey you wear. In DeVante's mind, the drills at the park before school, the push ups during class, the missed block in the game he already won. That's the important stuff. Everything outside of football, it's just a distraction. That's just how I am. The stuff there

sites other people don't assite me. I'm just like I'm different. That's just how I am. Coming up this season, I'm drafted, nineteen years of throwing the football, almost twenty, and he's coming down to a two thousand one draft. I hope I don't go out here and get my ass whooped on national TV. And they're like, they ain't gonna call you, And I was like, yeah, they called me like teen

minutes ago. If you love football this much and you love money that much, then you got a chance to play a lot of football and make a lot of money. He's like, you're just pound for COVID, You're just positive and I was like what. He's like, yeah, you need to go home right now, like right now. Yeah, I was trying out to cry. I didn't pay but out a cry around me. My. Yeah, we picked homeboy, but we still want you to take that. Come on, Calm

on phone, somebody, somebody, calm my phone. Drafted is a production of tree Ford Media, Clutch Sports Group, and I Heart Radio. The executive producers are Kelly Garner, Lisa Ammerman, Eric Slott, Eric Weiner, and Shawn to Tone. The series is produced and written by Eric Winer. Garme Mamalu is our coordinating producer. Coral Silverberg is our associate producer. Tom Monahan is our senior audio engineer. The show is mixed, edited and hosted by me Stephen Johnson, additional production help

from Tim Shower and Hayley Mandelberg. For transcripts of the show and more information undrafted, go to tree Fort dot fm, and for more podcasts from my Heart, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Three