Club Shay Shay - DeVonta Smith

Episode Date: April 26, 2021

On episode 29, Shannon welcomes in 2020 Heisman trophy-winning wide receiver, two-time National Champion and 2021 NFL Draft hopeful from the University of Alabama, DeVonta Smith. This special episode of Club Shay Shay was recorded in-person at Shannon’s home gym. DeVonta talks to Shannon about signing with Klutch Sports, and his career aspirations both on and off the field. He divulges what it’s like to play football at the University of Alabama, sharing the field with players like Tua Tagovailoa & playing for Nick Saban. Devonta revisits his National Championship & Heisman-winning senior season at Alabama, and looks forward to his future in the NFL. With the NFL Draft just days away, this is a can’t-miss conversation. #DoSomethinB4TwoSomethin & Follow Club Shay Shay:                                                                 https://www.instagram.com/clubshayshayhttps://twitter.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.facebook.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.youtube.com/c/clubshayshay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. New from Embedded. Who gets to compete as a woman? This question came up in ugly form at the Paris Olympics.

But it's not new. If she runs like a man and talks like a man, is she a man? not new. If she runs like a man and talks like a man, is she a man? Hear about the long history of sex testing women athletes on Tested, a new series from CBC and NPR's Embedded podcast. Listen to all episodes on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, I'm Shannon Sharp. Welcome to a very special edition of Club Shay Shay. As you can see, we're in the gym. And my next guest, while he might not be able to lift that, he can more than handle his own on the football field. Heisman Trophy winner, two-time national champ, AP College Player of the Year, the first receiver to receive that honor, SEC Player of the Year, Devontae Smith. Devontae, how you doing, bro? I'm good. Can't complain. slice got the rolling dice that's why all my life i've been grinding all my life davante how you doing bro i'm good can't complain you can't complain not at all i mean you and cali i mean the palm trees i know it's a little cold it's a little cold right now but uh how you liking cali i like it you got some very interesting news you want to share with us today you did

something today what's going on um i just signed with Clutch Sports. Just felt like it was a better business decision with me. Just more that I can do and more I can get out with them. There are a lot of agents out there. Obviously, you had your choice, the big names and if I'm not mistaken, Clutch just got into this business from a football aspect. I think last year, I think they signed Jeff Okuda. I think they had Chase Young, and now you, the Heisman Trophy winner. What was it

about Clutch that made you say, you know what, this is the fit for me? Just outside of football, just you as a person, just building your brand, just putting you out there, just making it more than just football. Right. Now people just see me as Devontae Smith, the football player, or Devontae Smith, the person. So you want to be

obviously, football is going to be prided. That's the way you're going to pay the billsontae Smith, the person. So you want to be, obviously, football is going to be priority. That's the way you're going to pay the bills and make a name for yourself. But you want to be outside of football. You want to be bigger than football. Yes, sir. Okay, let's go back to this season because you have a season for the ages.

COVID hit. There was touching gold. We might not have a season. Man, I came back to play because I wanted to play my senior year, get an opportunity to play for another national championship. What was going through your mind when it was touching gold, the SEC might not play this year? It was tough just knowing that I came back just to get my degree

and to play another year. I mean, I got the degree, but it's like, what am I going to do for this time now? That's a long time just to be working out. So it was tough, but just kept believing it, kept going through protocols and things like that, and it happened. Did you know this season was going to be special for you? I felt like I was going to have a good season. The season I had, no, I didn't expect that,

but I felt like I was going to have a pretty good season. Because if you look at it, your junior year, obviously, I mean, it's very difficult for you to get some shine in Alabama, especially the previous year. You got two first-round picks playing the very position that you play, Jerry Judy and Henry Ruggs. And so you come back and you're thinking to yourself, but I got Jalen Wallen on the other side.

He going to get some shine too. I got Najee in the backfield. When did you know this offense could be special? The summer. Everybody's just buying into everything the team not just offense defense everybody just buying into it knowing it the protocols we got to go through keeping your bubble your personal bubble small things like that like everybody was locked in I mean everybody came back even when we wasn't able to go to the school and work out like everybody found the way just to

make it happen right Right. Matt Jones tour couple years ago. He gets injured back comes in. He plays. Well, did you know he was going to play this well? Yeah, just the work that he put in. I mean like first one in last one out type guy. I mean knew he was going to come in do

he do. I mean, he's in the film room every day. He takes me three in the morning telling you stuff on film. I'm like, bro, it's three in the morning. Right. He's locked in. What is it like going to Alabama, the factory? Because you guys produce wide receivers, offensive linemen. You guys produce, put guys in the NFL like no other college has done it all in recent memory.

What's it like going there, every single day I mean it's different it's a mindset thing I mean it's not for everybody I mean you have to be willing to go in there knowing that it's not gonna be easy you're gonna compete every day just knowing that the guy that's right on side of you could be the guy that's gonna take the job so just knowing and then like everybody's just generally happy for each other I mean it's no animosity nothing like that I mean you go out there you see the guy next to you that you grind with every day doing good you just happy for him that's because I'm thinking I'm like okay you decide to go

to Alabama we're gonna get why you decide to go there you like hold on Jerry Judy's going there you've heard of him Henry rugs going there Jalen waddle why would you do that it wasn't just a me thing I mean yeah I want to go there for me but then again you want to go to the win national championship you know you're not gonna win it by yourself so you got to have some dogs with you right so you go to Alabama you know one thing you're gonna play for the SEC title and you're probably gonna compete for a national title but in the process coach Saban as you said, it's a factory

and guys know you might be starting today and might be second team 13 tomorrow. So how do you how does the bar? How did Devontae Smith get him get his mind? So, you know what? I'm going to compete. I know what they got. I know what they produce at this position, but I'm a dog. I can win a job there. It comes down to control what you control. I mean, like, you control your effort every day. You control how hard you go out and practice every day and work.

So, just controlling that and everything else is going to happen to itself. I mean, the coaches are going to see. They watch film every day. We watch film every day. They're going to see who's putting the work in. Judy, Ruggs, yourself, Waddle, obviously, Meachie is back the next year. What's that meeting room? Like what's what you know, obviously you're gonna get everybody's best. You're Alabama. You're gonna get everybody's best

regardless. And then now you're the receiver. Now you like you get extra attention. Uh, it's just that knowing that when someone is giving you your best is knowing that they doing that for a reason. You doing something right. Right. Because if you weren't doing something right, they'll just be like, oh man, it's just another little team.

But like people know like, okay, this Alabama, like they got to be doing something right. This player got to be doing something right. So it makes you excited just knowing that you're going to get everybody else's best and it just makes the game fun. But not only is it the best on the offensive side, you're going to get past certain the second who's going to be a first round pick. You went against Trayvon D last year. You go get Mika. You go. You going against guys that's going to be first round picks

on the other side of the ball. What's that like? Because that's a game in practice. I mean, it's intense. I mean, you go out there. You have your guys like Pat Mika that don't talk and just sit there and play. Then you have you guys like this that's going to talk the whole practice. So I mean, it's fun. Just going out there knowing that you're going to get them and you just make each other better and everybody's just happy at the time. So do you know like, okay, I beat Pat. If I can beat

Pat, Pat's one of the best in the league. What chance does the guy have the other team? What do we have it? If I can beat Minka, if I can beat certain, if I can be digs, these guys on the other team have no chance. It definitely give you a confidence boost. Just knowing that you got to practice against the best every day. So it's like, okay, I did this on Pat. It worked. It worked on patent. It should work on everybody else. So like, it you a confidence boost every day.

Are you a talker? I can't be at times. So so so who get who got you riled up? Was it certain? Was it this was a maker who gets you like, okay. Oh, you want to talk? Okay. So it's going to be one of these type practice. It was for show digs. These talk all day. He not gonna stop. Okay. So you look at it says, okay, I'm going here. Top-notch receivers.

Okay. They got top-notch guys. And are you thinking like, did you ever think that? Did I make a mistake? That should I have come to Alabama? Should I've gone to my hometown team? LSU? Should I've gone somewhere else man this because you catch the national championship, the touchdown the national championship game, but it wasn't like you got a whole lot of shine that your freshman year and then your sophomore

years kind of down then you your junior year, even though you guys don't have great team success. You blew up because I'm watching you in the LSU game. I'm like, man, that little, don't complain. So did you did it ever cross your mind? I made a mistake man, because I'm like, man, that little, you can play. So did it ever cross your mind? I made a mistake, man, because I, you know, I'm splitting refs with Ruggs and Suggs and all these guys. I'm splitting refs. I need to be on the field all the time.

I wouldn't say it was necessarily getting down and just like, I made the wrong choice. It was more of like, what more could I do? Yeah, I wouldn't satisfy with my touch in my freshman year. That's everybody. That's part of the game, right? I mean, you just want more for yourself. So it was just more of like, what more can I do? What do I need to improve to get better?

And then just locked in on things. I needed to improve that National Championship game. It seems like they're playing cover to tour. Does a great job of holding the safety stairs, the safety down. You do a great job of keeping you with that balls in the air. What's going through your mind? Don't drive. Is that so you can you like if I catch this is the game with that play alone. You are a hero and Bama lure. You call a game

winning touchdown that doesn't happen often in a national You are a hero in Bama lore. You caught a game-winning touchdown. That doesn't happen often in a national championship game. You caught the game-winning touchdown. So nobody had a better start and a better finish in Alabama history than Devontae Smith. It was just, man, it's all God. I mean, I just believe in him just being in the right place at the right time. Just trusting our training from day one. I mean, that's something that we

did in practice plenty of time and it just happened to come to the game. How did that play change your life? It didn't change much. I mean, still the same me. I feel like people really didn't notice me until like my junior year. So like I was still kind of like under the radar still but nothing really changed. So, you know, no, no free. Hey, Devante. That's Devante. Caught the game winner. No, I ain't getting none of that. Hold on. So they bypassed the rest of your freshman year, your sophomore

year and that didn't happen until your junior year. When you walking out, don't nobody really notice you for real. Right. Ain't nobody really knows me. You got a helmet on all the time. And plus, you're not like physically important. You're not like an offensive lineman. You could just be a normal guy walking around class. They wouldn't

put two and two together. Do you like that? I like when it's just low-key. I don't like all the attention. So you get to walk around the campus and people don't really know who you are. You get to blend in. You get to go places without all the attention, the extra attention. Yeah, I just keep it low-key.

Nobody be all over me. I don't like the cameras and all that. What's it like playing for Coach Saban? It's great, man. I mean, it's the best of the best. I mean, even with him, it's trash talk. We at practice, he talking about how he can cover me and things like that that's just competitors in us is he intense because he seems like a very intense person very nonsense

very matter-of-fact tell you what he wants expects you to go out there and do it and if you can't get it done with you gonna have a problem I mean that comes with the game definitely I mean if you got a coach does not like that then that's probably somebody you wouldn't want coaching. Would you say his coaching style is firm but fair? Most definitely. I feel like he has everything structured right, but it's fair for everybody. I mean, it's his way, but it's great for everybody.

It's good structure. It's going to get everybody right. You say Alabama isn't for everybody. It's good. It's good structure is going to get everybody right. You say Alabama isn't for everybody. What is some of the things that you would say are the most important traits that a player needs to have in order to go to Alabama and have success. You got to be disciplined. I mean everything nothing changes. The schedules always stay the same. It's not much change there. So you just have to be disciplined just to get to everything on

time, like their own off the field, going to class. None of that go by in Alabama. Coach Saban is a stickler for time, isn't he? He wants you punctual. If the meeting's at 830, he expects you there at 829 sitting in your seat, not walking through the door

as he's standing up to talk. So in your four years there walking through the door as he's standing up to talk. So, in your four years there, have Coach Saban ever got upset at you? Is there something that you've done that made Coach Saban upset? Yeah, yeah. It was a game. I threw a punch. Oh, you got

15. Yeah. They threw me out the game. So, I want to know, what was that conversation like as you're going to the sideline? Because he's going to meet you. The one thing I know about Coach Saban, when you guys get penalties, he's meeting them on the sideline. So, he met you. What did he say?

He got on me. He cursed me out. I mean, that's something you can't do. But, I mean, I knew I was in the wrong with things like that. But when we got back to the locker room, he was just like, you can't do that. Right. That's part of being disciplined. Right. You just got to let it go.

So, you come back. You win a national championship. Is Alabama everything you thought it would be? And more, did you get everything out of Alabama? Obviously, you went to play at a very high level get to the NFL get a degree You got that But Heisman Trophy AP player of the year never been done for a wide receiver SEC player of the year all these records it was Alabama everything you thought it would be everything and more just

with With individual success comes team success, right? I wouldn't win none of them awards if we was 2-in whatever. If we wasn't winning no games, I wouldn't win them awards. So, I mean, like, it's everything that you expect and more just with your teammates too, just them buying into everything, the principles and the values of the team. So, if they don't do that, then I don't win the stuff that I win.

The Heisman Trophy. It was probably around week six week seven all of a sudden you start hearing Devontae Smith Heisman Trophy Heisman Trophy when you first heard that what did you think I try to block it out that's nonsense man yeah I just over here talking about it no way I'm gonna win this right okay so week eight you put up a monster game and then the lsu game you just go off i think you have three what three four touchdowns you make the one hand catch over stingley uh and on the seventh route and now it's really starting to pick up steam it's really

starting this thing do you like hold on this thing? Although I look for real though. This might happen. This this this might happen. It hit me like I was like, oh y'all serious about this. I was like, but I was still in my head. Like is no way. I mean like my quarterback in it. He's throwing it to me. He's throwing to everybody else. I'm like if anybody going to win, it's going to be here. The quarterback normally get the love the receiver catching a bunch of touchdowns. Well, somebody got to be throwing them to it.

Yeah, I'm like if it's anybody going to this team, it's going to be Mack. I'm like, y'all serious, but no, y'all ain't that serious. Okay. Then you had Auburn. It was like you kept stacking these, not just 100-yard games on the touchdown, you kept putting 150, 180, 200, two, three touchdown games.

Okay. Now we get to the SEC title game. Florida, you go off again. You're like like hold on. You ready to tell me we undefeated. I got all these stats. This is how the trophy thing. Trevor Lawrence had a kind of little off year. He had he had COVID issues. Man. Oh, they might call. They might. They might actually call my name. I kind of after the Florida game. I kind of was like

not you might get it. Not you kind of went out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, five. Yeah. So I was like, man, y'all talk about me. I need to talk about he went crazy today. So I was like, it's really not your Mac. I was like, I might be up in there, but I ain't gonna win it, man. So you're sitting there, Max, right here. You're sitting right there. The 2020

Heisman Trophy winner, University of Alabama. Did you think they were going to say Devontae Smith or Mac Jones? I thought they were going to say Mac Jones. I honestly did. And when they said my name, I was kind of stuck. I was like, man, this can't be real. They can't be giving me this right now. Heisman Trophy. I mean, Alabama, we know Alabama's history.

They go 60, 70 years and never have a Heisman Trophy winner. And then the last 10 years, they got three. I mean, it's just a blessing. I mean, just being around those guys that you're around, it helps you. So just going there every day, I mean, it's not something that you expect. But, like, when you're just doing everything right and just have God first, just everything that you have planned is going to work out for you. Just not with you, but with the team, too.

I look at your team, and I don't know if we've ever seen a team. I'm not saying you guys, but you win the Bolitnikoff Award. Your center wins the Remington Award. Leatherwood wins the top offensive lineman. Your running back, Dope Walker. Your quarterback, the Golden Arm, Johnny Unitas. You, Heisman, the Bolitnikoff. I don't know if I've ever seen an offensive team win every award. You got

every award that an offensive player could win outside of the Immaculate War, which goes to the Outstanding Tidy, and obviously Kyle Pitts won that. Did you know you guys had this kind of talent? Like I said, the summer, man. Everybody was bought into everything. I mean,

we was going over by Landon House during the summer working out by ourselves. He got a whole little gym set in his garage so like i'm like bro like we really buying into this like right it's gonna be a crazy year this year so i kind of figured like we gonna do something crazy like we gonna witness natty i knew it from the beginning just like we worked too hard we we wouldn't go let nobody take that away from us. So obviously you got LSU. You won't rematch you. You won't revenge because of what they did to you last year. You saw the outstanding offense that they had those two receivers Joe Burrows Edwards, a layer offensive line.

And so you go out and statistically you guys had a better season. Mouse two games than what they had the previous year. Was that your mindset? It was more just about us. We wasn't really worried about what somebody else did. It was more about us. We control what we do. We control our own destiny.

The coaches, they can only do so much. They can only help us, but ultimately, that's us going out there. We're out there running the players. Put you in position. Now, okay, it's on you guys to take it. Yeah, they're going to put us in a position. Now we got to go out there and execute it. So it was more like you got to do this at this step, this depth.

So, like, you got to be bought into those things. Some plays, if you don't be there at the right time, it's not going to work. Right. First semifinal game against Notre Dame. What's your thought process? What's the team thought process going into this game? I would say as offensive, like offensively, it was like nobody played us how they played on what they showed on film.

Right. So, like, they played a lot of man on everybody. So, we was like, there's no way they come out here and they're going to play man on us. They played a good little bit of it. So, like, once we got to the game, we like, okay, like, they really going to sit up here and they're going to play man on this. They played a good little bit of it. So like once we got to the game, we like, okay, like they really going to sit up here and do this. Let's just take what they give us and let's just do what we do.

And that's all it was just doing what you do, not trying to be something that you're not just being yourself, right? You dispatch a Notre Dame and you get to the Ohio State. Going into that game, Ohio State is probably one of the few teams that can match you athlete for athlete. They're loaded. You look at what they do. I think they've got three of the last four defensive rookies of the year.

The DBs go to the NFL. They're the wide receivers playing the NFL. So they're as talented as Alabama. What was your thought process going into that game? Because Wade said y'all know who I won't. Why y'all asking me these kind of questions? You know who I want. He need to see me. So you hear him talk like that. What are you thinking? I mean, that's just like any other game. You always got the big target on your back. Everybody don't want to shout at you. So I just approached it like

another game and then just going up to Pat just talking to him I'm like bro this the last one like they gonna give you they best I'm gonna give you my business like every rep I want you in front of me like this the last don't switch it out follow me wherever I go I want you to follow me it's the best against the best like we got to do this so it was me and him every day that week going at it like I don't care if I'm in a slot wherever I'm at you come guard me so that so that was the first time that you requested pass or tan services for the entire week of practice usually i just go over to this side but it'll be like oh i motion they'll do something else but i was like nah man this the week like i ain't trying to hit none of that but like we got, we got to get it this week. So, you know what?

As I'm talking to you, that seems so far out of your personality. That's not like you. It's just. It was something about that game, huh? Yeah, it was just like, man, I've been on the winning side. I've been on the losing side. We both been on the losing side. So, I was like, I'm not trying to have that feeling.

I had my sophomore year, man. Like I came back for my degree and this. I got one. Like ain't nobody going to stop me from getting my second goal. So I was like, we're going to make this happen. You go off. I don't think we've seen anything like this in a national championship game. I don't think we've seen anything in the game of this magnitude.

Because normally a lot of times the Heisman Trophy, he's on the and I think what worked in your favor is that the banquet circuit was null and void because of COVID. So you wouldn't have to go eat these dinners and you miss practice and miss all this stuff. You were still able to stay in your routine. And sometimes

Heisman Trophy winners, it's anticlimactic when they get to the national championship game. It's like bro, you won the national championship, you won the Heisman and that's it's anticlimactic when they get to the national championship game. It's like, bro, you won the Heisman and that's the kind of performance you put up? But you had a performance for the ages. What was going through your mind in the first half of that game? Really just our game plan. I kid you not, me and Coach Sart, right before second quarter, we walk to the other side, and I'm like, Coach Sart, what the play is?

And then we both just say the same play at the same time. I'm just like, we locked in. Like, there's no way we both say the same play at the same time. Like, that's what we think about running. We run it, touchdown. So, we like, we really locked in. Did you think it was going to be this easy? I don't know if you had it any easier than what you had in that game now that's the best of the best over there and you made it look you made

it look easy i ain't thinking it was gonna be like that like it's ohio state they just beat clemson they feeling good about they sell like they're gonna come with it so like and then like when you go out there and warm up you kind of like get a feel for it right you see them running out of them going through their routine i'm like okay like they got nice little squad they yoked up they got a nice athletic program like we do they try i mean they got speed them guys can run they always test well when they go to the combine you're like okay okay let's go this is gonna be the matchup this is what everybody wanted to see if this is a game you want to watch for the national championship, this is it right here. This is it. You get going. You're like, okay, catch the first one.

Okay, catch the second one. And I think maybe your third or fourth catch, you get to the house. You're like, dude in trouble. This is too easy. Did you start? Because he requested your services. He said, y'all asking me a question who I want to guard. Y'all know who I want to guard. So did you start i want to guard so did you start talking you start you know normally guys start feeling good

you sure you wanted this now you can back out at any time and go to the other side because there's a problem over here it was more just like going to the sideline like coast shark it was always give the people what they want to see right so like every week somebody say something is up there and he just like get a people what they want to see so it's just like that's what that's what they want to see we're gonna give it to them so it was just like all right let's do it i'm ready whatever y'all want me to do i'm i'm here we run whatever y'all want to run i'm here i'm ready so you didn't really say anything to him i said something one time after the after the deep ball

and I was like, just keep giving. I was even more just like, man, just keep giving me the ball. You have three touchdowns over 200 yards in the first half and like the first play because I'm saying, you know, I'm saying to myself if I see the way you going, I said he going for over three. I think we're going over 300. I said he gonna put that National Championship game record so far to them. Nobody's ever going to get 300. I said he going for over three i think he's gonna get over 300 i said he gonna put that national championship game record so far out of there nobody's ever gonna get 300. i said he might get four if they can get it close but i i know he's going over three and then you dislocate

your finger what went through your mind you like did you like i dislocated my finger like damn i'm leaving all these yards and he touchdowns on the field when it happened i didn't feel it like i just looked at it and it was like it looked weird. So I went to the side. I'm like, I think my finger came out. So they tried to put it back in and the whole time in the tent. I'm just sitting there saying like, if you just catch the ball, your finger don't get dislocated, right? So I'm just like you. I did that to myself.

You just catch the ball. We'll never be in this situation. So you, you were disappointed that you dropped the ball. Because if you had caught it clean the first time, it's a routine play. You get 10 yards, 8, 10 yards, and you go back to the huddle, and you live to see another day. So that was your night. You ended the night with a historic performance in the first half. You're a player of the game.

But you think about what could have been. Yeah. You wanted 300 in. It's about which which you could have done better and and I'm just like my last play. I remember me just dropping the pass and dislocate my finger. Bruh sandwiched in between you dropping the pass. You got a national champion of national champion, a Heisman Trophy AP player, AP Player of the Year. You good. You good under one drop.

You're preparing for the draft now. What's your prep been like? Really just rehabbing the hand. You know, upper body is kind of hard to get with it with the hand. So just doing what I can, just doing every little thing that I can't all the details and things like that just my shoulder work rotator cuff things like that because I mean it's not no bench right now it's not none of that like you can't do yeah I came out like that I see that's why I want to be getting our press how is the hand we getting better

getting better you had to have surgery on it yeah I had a ligament bone was kind of stuck in the ligament. So I had to go in and just move it. So but you really wanted to come back. You like anything they could have put that they could put that back here. You go tape it up. Take them two fingers together. Yeah, I was trying my best and I sat up there for a minute. Like man, we got to do something and then it got so bad. I was like, all right, I can't do it. It was painful. Huh? Yeah, I can't take the drill. That's really do you

like? Okay. Yeah, I would get back in there. Like ooh. Ooh. No. Yeah, I can't take the drill. That's really the deal. You like, okay. Yeah, I want to get back in there. Like, ooh, ooh, no. Yeah, you prepare for the draft. You can't do really any upper body. So you're running your running routes. Are you training with a lot of other guys that's prepared for the draft? Yeah, it's a nice little bit of us over there because you're down in Tampa, right? Yes, sir. Hmm. I figured you come out to L. A. I want to ask you, you get you, you leave Louisiana to boot. Normally top guys in Louisiana, they stay home. Why did you leave? Staying home was never really me. I always

wanted to just get away. Just get away from there. I wanted to be somewhere. Well, people can't just pop up on me but it's close enough to where my mom my brother my pops like they can just come in right around but I don't want everybody just popping up on me so you you want to get away you ain't want to home is like hey Devontae well bro we here yeah I had to get away from all that you from a small town what was it like growing up in that town? Everybody was really family. I mean, like, you be on your street, and it's just like, you can go from house to house, like, it's family. So like, it was never nothing too crazy. It

wasn't it wasn't the safest place, but it wasn't the roughest either. Right. But it was just more like, you say because everybody know each other, like, they, his mom went to school with Joe mama. So like, y'all know each other like they his mom went to school with your mama so like y'all know each other now y'all growing up together they grew up together so it was like everybody that grew up there knew each other you're you're three four star recruit but you're undersized i mean you're not gonna be a big man you're never gonna be a big man i don't think you ever have to worry about being overweight. So you can eat whatever you want to.

I'm looking at your bone structure, 300 pounds, 250. That's not going to happen. That was the knock coming out of high school that he's too small. Now, reports, I don't know if it's true. You can correct me if I'm wrong. You weighed 120 pounds as a freshman? In high school yeah yeah 120 yeah how much do you weigh as a senior probably 150 145.

you didn't gain a whole lot of weight so i guess you didn't go you didn't go to your friend's house to eat enough and somehow somehow in between four years, you got to gain more than 25 pounds. So you go to University of Alabama at 145, 150. You walk on campus, Coach Saban take a look at you and what did he say? It was just like, you hear like, we gotta put some weight on you. We got you, now we gotta just put the weight on you.

So you start lifting, you start eating. He's like, you eat whatever you want to just put the weight on so you start lifting you start eating he's like you eat whatever you want as much as you want yeah it was just like shakes just every little second like you got to be eating somewhere it's a little protein bar where it's a shake right after you work out just whenever you're doing nothing just eat even though all that what are you waiting on 170 170 I saw when someone asked me say critique, who did you remind you of? The first name came to my head was Marvin Harrison. You about the same bill. You're about the same size. Barbie could run routes. You run X. I mean,

maybe that's an Alabama thing where you guys are very technically and fundamentally sound at running the route tree. Who is your game remind you of? The Fonte Adams Keenan Allen just from the releases to the route running just every little detail. Like if something not right, I'm gonna come out of the like Brian do this right like Ryan feel comfortable with it. So you think you feel the only way a guy gets gets a jam on you or stop you in

the route. It was something you did not really something he did. So when you were in the meeting room, you're in the meeting room with Judy and Judy is very terrible. Judy can run some routes. You run routes. Rug is more of a speed guy. Jalen speed, but he can run routes also. So are you guys critiquing you like, but I got you on that one, bro. I got you that dig your dig. They look like mine. Oh, yeah, for sure. It's every day just going in there like, oh, yeah, I did this way with him.

My release is way better than yours. That's every day with anything that we do. So is that something that you guys, because you look at, you know, you go back and it starts with Julio and you go Ridley and you go, well, you go Julio, Amari, uh judy yourself rugs is that something that those guys pass down like each one teach one yeah when i came my freshman year that's that's how calvin was just showing us everything look route routes releases things like the every detail and you know them guys all coming from south flor him cool. Jew. They just like that's what we've been doing.

Like that's just how it is in South Florida. The route running down there. Like that's what they do. Right? So it was just like you watch those guys and you just take every little detail just soaking in. You guys most of you guys have very similar personalities. I mean, Julio doesn't do much talking. Cool does no talking. You do no talking. I don't know. I don't know much about Judy, but he doesn't seem like a talker. Well, I mean, what's up? I mean, you got skilled like that.

You're supposed to be talking about. I thought I let him know you I'm gonna give it to you the first half and just so he don't feel left out. I will give it him a second half. Y'all gonna get it today. It's more people. People don't like when they when they talk and you don't talk to them Like when you like when they talk to you, they want you to talk back but when they talking you don't talk back they like Like you really feel like

Nah, I'm not gonna say that I'm just gonna keep working I want you to keep working that gear to it. Yes. See see this what you asked for now See, I was minding my own business. I had no intentions of talking or saying anything. But see, now I got to give it to you. I usually just give you a look. Like I just look at you and I laugh or I shake my head. Yeah, this is what you asked for.

Okay. Were your parents surprised? Were your neighborhood surprised that you didn't choose LSU and you chose to go to Alabama? I wouldn't say my family was surprised because I told them I'm not going there. I know that's what y'all want me to do, but it's not happening.

I got to go somewhere else. I feel like neighborhood was probably surprised, but my mom, pop, grandfather, they weren't surprised because I already told them. Once you made up in your mind, I'm not going to LSU, it came down between Alabama and who? It was just all Alabama.

It was all Alabama. So the only place that you really had set your mind on was going to Alabama? Yeah. So what happens if Alabama doesn't offer you a scholarship? Then we would have just had to roll with what we had. Had to figure something out. So So cuz you had put all your eggs in that basket. Wow, that's so you're small. You're 120 pounds as a freshman. You end up at 145. You're senior year in

between. Did you were your high school team? Were you were you guys very good? Yeah, we went to state twice in my four years. Yeah. We know we lost both of them. What happened? Not a lose. It was my senior. We lost about four. We had a couple mistakes on one yard line. So that cost us. So you're wide receiver. Did you play any other positions play safety corner? I ain't leave the field. Oh you were play. So let me ask you a question. So your corner skills.

Who are your corner skills? You Deion. You Revis. I get involved with Gilmore. Oh, you step on Gilmore. Oh, you putting hands on people. I switch it up every night, man. Oh, so y'all done got sophisticated now.

Because when I was in high school, oh, you played straight man. It was man. I got you. when I was in high school. Oh you play straight man. Hey, did I eat it? It was made I got you Yeah, that you made football. I got you. That's how it was. We played a team that had a good receiver That's why God they had some I received that I just go place. Oh, you so you you travel you bring up frequent flyer miles You just okay. Yeah, you shut it down. Hey, I only gave up one touchdown one touchdowns at safety Double seems cover three. I had to choose a side chose the wrong side. I want to know what

It seems to me coach Saban didn't have to do a whole lot of selling of you because your mind was made up you weren't Going to LSU. So I was gonna ask you what kind of What kind of salesman pitch the coach Saban give you but he really didn't have to give you any did he actually wouldn't as easy as everybody thought like he didn't offer me at first because it was the size thing. So it was just kind of like we need you to gain some weight before we offer you but my mentor he just kept bringing me back to the camp. Right and it was just like

all right. Every time he come he killed the best dbs like all right i don't even care about the size number just offering and like once he gave it to me i was kind of in my feelings kind of like okay you ain't want to offer me because of my size nah i ain't coming here but then that's when i started realizing like all right you gotta make the most of this opportunity just like get out your feelings just do what's best for you right It seems that coach Saban develops more than a player coach relationship. He's almost like a father figure to these guys because he's genuinely happy. He said up. This is the he says something that he doesn't

normally say because coach Saban has six national championships since he's been back at the University of Alabama, but he said something that this was this was his favorite team. This was his most special team. Why do you think he said that? Just everybody's just like everybody bought into everything about the team. It was no selfishness or nothing like that. It was no individual. It was like team everybody like not everybody had covid like

before we even came back, but it's just like the few people that we didn't have, like everybody bought into like, you just can't be out here doing this and that. And it was like, you don't have players going out to parties and things like that. Like everybody come to practice, go home. We're around each other if we at home and that's about it.

Like everybody bought into everything. Like wasn't nobody around here just messing around. That's really hard because you're a college kid and a part of being college is doing college kid things going out to parties doing certain things but you realize now not only is this about being selfish for you but you're putting the team at risk because not only could you possibly be infected but now you come back and you infect the whole the entire team. Yeah. So it was just just like you said, like it's not just about you got think about the people around you. So like you come and you

we in the meeting room with everybody and you have COVID and I was like, all right, we was just in a team meeting. So like now everybody got a quarantine now. You guys your junior year, you guys used to play something with rock, scissors how did that come about and how did coach saban look at that because i see you guys were playing that and then

it kind of went away it was a one-time thing like we were just sitting in a huddle and they called to play and usually we do like just left and right so when they call to play me and jews like nah i'm taking this route. And he was like, nah, I'm taking it. And I was like, well, we're going to have to rock, paper, scissors or something. And then we just ended up doing it. And the camera caught him. Yeah, everybody just blew it up. And Coach Saban, he had a little meeting with us.

It wasn't nothing crazy, though. But it was just like, all right, we understand what you're saying. All right, we're done doing it. Right. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily, with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed

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A glance route. We call it a bang eighteight skinny, skinny post? Five-step slant. Yeah. Why do you like that route so much? It's just so much I can do from a release just that and then like you can make it look. I can play with my split. I can be tight.

I can be wide. I can be in the divider. Like I can do so much with it and you'll never know what's coming. But you know, that quarterback got to be there because that's a to come in. Yeah, that's it. And he's coming with bad intentions. So if he's off, if he leaves you, the thing is with that route, you want him to protect you. Yeah, worst case, worse, put it on my back

shoulder. Let me turn and do this. So he hit me in the back. Don't make me do this. Yeah, and let him hit me in my face. Got to go be problems. Yeah, between me and you, not me in the safety. You go have a problem. Yeah, it's a trust thing. I mean, you always trust your quarterback to make the right read and do the right thing. And then it's just like your anger helps you a lot to you stay flat. Then your back go automatically be torn. Right? So when you go into the

game, you got your favorite route. And so I had a favorite route, but I'm trying to make everything look like that route. So my steps, if I'm running, you know, basic cross, which is, you know, 10 to 12-yard crossing route, but I'm also making the out route look like that. I'm also making the seven route look like that. I'm also making the dig look like that.

So is that how you're thinking? You're like, I want everything to look like this, but then I'm going to fall off the table on the out route. Yeah, you make everything look the same. Like, you got to drive off the ball. You got to look at the person that you're going against. Like, you can't be looking down. Like, if I run every route and I'm looking at you,

you'll never know what's coming. Right. Sell speed and don't slow down in the break. Just stick your foot in the ground and just go. Because when you start slowing down, then he know what's going to come. You're going to start leaning to the way you're going. So just full speed, looking at him and just keep going all the way full speed through. Well, you guys, the Alabama receivers, you guys do a very good job of that, of not tipping your routes off, not decelerating. Because a lot of guys, you're like that

and the corner's going to drive. He see you breaking, you start chopping. What route you run chopping like that? It's like everything is speed with you guys. I see you guys fall off the table. It's that 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I'm off the table. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I'm in. You guys are sitting up and you guys are very good with your shoulders. You guys are constantly moving. Constantly

moving. It's more just like, it's a feeling. When you start running the route, you just feel like when it's supposed to happen, right? So it's like you never run a route counting your steps. If you run a route counting your steps, then you're not gonna be running full speed because you're trying to count the steps. So it's more of a feel like, okay, I'm running and then you just feeling and it just happened. You just breathe. But the thing is, is that like in the like in practice, we always ran the routes a little deeper because we know come game time that clock is going to speed up. And so is that how you're thinking that? Okay. I

know they said 14, but I don't know if I'll be able to get to 14. So I'm probably gonna have to hit this thing at 12. Yeah, it was like that at times because you get to practice and the lines don't be always why like they be missing sometimes so you just like before the play. I look like, okay, I supposed to be here. I'm gonna go a little bit deeper than that since I can't really tell what his line at right.

So your position coach. Is he really a stickler for like get your depth, get your depth, get your depth. You too quick. You too quick because everything needs to tie up. Tie them up. Like you said, when you coming out of your break on that glance route, Matt Jones' back foot need to be hitting. He needs to be driving the football.

You're throwing that fall off the table to speed out. When that back foot hit, you need to be falling off the table. But like I said, you know, you get jammed. You know, hey, I know you like to think you're going to win every route, but sometimes you get jammed. It's going to have to, you have to speed it up. Yeah. So if you get hung up at the line, I mean, it's still timing. So you just get what you can.

And I mean, the ball is still supposed to be out. Right. So it's a timing thing. Not more just like, yeah, depth is it. And they always get on us about our depth. I mean, like if you get a clean release and stuff and you don't get your depth, then all right, what you doing this for? But like, if you get hung up then like, of

course, you got to cut it short because it's timing. And you can be, you know, don't be modest here. Do you believe you had the greatest Alabama career of any players ever come through Alabama? No, who had a better career? I don't know who had better, but I wouldn't say myself. I mean, I don't know how many guys have won the Heisman,

won AP Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, 23 touchdowns. Look, what you did, you had the greatest on-field and off-field as far as awards of any receiver in history. Now, it's hard for me to believe that there's been a player that comes through the University of Alabama. Now, I go back to Alabama. I'm a lot older than you. And so I go back way with Coach Bryant.

I don't know if there's been a player that had the career that you've had. When you think about it, you stayed four years, two national titles, a husband trophy, AP player of the year, SEC officer player of the year, the yard, the catcher, the touchdown, like it's Calvin Ridley, Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Jerry, Judy rugs, waddle. Your name in front of all of them. Is more. I consider myself as,'s more. I consider myself as of course, I consider myself as the best receiver that came

through. But player, you better. Oh, I don't tell you. You heard that? You already said, really? He's a Mari. He said he better than you. That what he said. I asked you that. I said, you the best player. He said receiver. Yeah, I consider myself the best receiver to come through there. I mean, it's been some great guys like Julio. Cool. But I mean, we still watch film with them. I mean, it's stuff that I took

out. They toolbox. They helped me get the wild outside. I mean, like I don't get to where I am without them without watching them watching Julio. What watching him run out of glass routes in Atlanta and things like this. So I mean like that stuff that I just put my toolbox and I'm like, y'all helped me get here. Can you believe Julio is that size and can run and move like he can? Yeah, he came around with us once on and I was just like bro, you too big to be moving fast man.

They a big dude. People don't realize people don't realize how big Julio is. Julio probably about 230. Yeah. 235. You like bro, let me let me get a little bit of that. Then let me get to like 200, but you know, you're not going to be you probably the highest you ever going to wear probably 180, you know, you realize that don't you? Yeah, this is it. This is what you got. Anybody that draft Devante Smith like bro, y'all get all the protein that you want. This is it.

Yeah, then that's how I look look at I mean like people say I'm not eating it up like like I eat all day every day like it's just not gonna happen this who I am right so I mean like I accept it I mean like you accepted are you are you not I mean it is what it is where would you like to play I mean you got a lot of mock graphs. Some have you going third. Some have you going seven, eight. Some have you going to, you know, 11. What's the ideal landing spot for Devante? I just want to be somewhere with team. What are you going to throw the ball? What are you going to throw the ball? And where's the team? Got me like you can go to some of these teams and it's just

like you have players. It's all about the money. It's not like it's not about the game. Right? I want to go somewhere where like it's a team like well we gonna we not here just doing this for a chick we doing here to take care of our families and to win i mean like i'm not trying to go nowhere where it's like we're gonna lose every game like all right i got my chicken i'm i'm out like no i want to win i want to go in somewhere where it's family like you feel like it's family like i enjoy coming here every day i don't want to walk in a building like man here i come with these dudes they coming here every day. I don't want to walk in a building like man. Here I come with these dudes. They ain't trying to get

better. Like I want to go. So we don't I'm gonna make the person across me better. They gonna make me better. They ask you a question. I think at the senior bowl, and they ask you who was better Mac or tour and the report is before you even they even finished it. You said, Matt, what's the differences between the two quarterbacks? They both two great quarterbacks. I mean, they both play differently. Mack more of a I'm a watch film. I know what you're going to do. It's not nothing. You're going

to show me that I haven't seen and tools more of a like I'm going to get in the game. I figured out. Okay. I see you doing this now. I know it's going to come more instincts, but I mean, they're two great quarterbacks. I mean, everybody operates differently. It's just like with you. It's like I'm route runner. I'm going to beat you like this. Like I run routes. That's what I do. Rose is speed. I'm gonna beat you with speed. Me is route running water speed route running is

like everybody has the different way of being successful. And I mean, that's their that's their ways. Are you going to run the 40? No. You play faster than you probably would time. That's what you think don't isn't it? I don't know why people think I'm slow because I'm really not. I mean, like you will run for three. Yeah, I believe I could. I mean, I ran tracking

things like that. Like I'm just long. It looks slow. But like if you put some drive, you put somebody on side me, you'll be like, okay, he not slow. That's what I got. That's I think that's the thing that some of the coach from Ohio State said, you don't realize how fast he's moving until you're up close. So you're, you know, you look at somebody on film, you're like, okay, but then you get you know you're looking at somebody on film you're like okay but then you get there and you see them you're like damn dude moving yeah that's that's how i look it's just like y'all on the outside looking in but like if you was on this field looking you'd be like oh yeah like he's moving you out you cannot can you outrun roads no i can't i ain't gonna say

all that what about water no it depends water it depends on what it is. I believe he'll give me an affordable I believe we ran like a 60 or something like that. I'll give Water or water the rose who's faster It depends on what you're running for it. I take water you take water with a boy. I think water in the 40 Wow You do realize run ran 427. Yeah. So what you expect is water. Is he going to run to 40? I don't know. Because I would have looked. Do you think it was a blessing and a curse? Do you believe you've been able to put up the numbers had waddle stayed healthy? No, I know I wouldn't have.

But I mean like i believe both of us would have had great seasons right it was like you can't you double one the other one gonna eat right vice versa so i mean like if he would have played nah i wouldn't i wouldn't want to hide matt probably would have won the highway because back through like yeah if i would have won the house i mean i believe belenical could have probably went to either one of us right so i i know like he would have played 100 i wouldn't have won the I mean, I believe but then the call could have probably went to either one of us. Right? So I know like he would play a hundred percent. I wouldn't have won the house. So you got are you and water working out together now? No, he's training somewhere. Okay. So

I watched you win the Heisman and your mom was a lady. Your father was a lady. You're happy. What's going to be what the what is the draft going to be like? Because that's not the end of the journey. That's just the beginning. Yeah, because you didn't say well, I want to get drafted in there. No, no, no, no, no. You said I want to play. So that's the that's the start of a new journey. Really just I don't like being around a lot of

people. So it's going to be you and your mom's will be a small group. Yeah, it's going to be a small group. i don't like having too many people around me and things like that so yeah it's gonna be a small group and then what about the cookout man you know y'all cookout man y'all gotta have some boudin you gotta jump jambalaya some etouffee y'all gotta have some gumbo man you can't have just five people to eat all that we was talking about that last night about food and stuff like that we might do something after but as far as like draft night it's gonna be small but after we might have like something at the park or something. Okay. Okay. So you you this is going to be a culmination because obviously,

you know, you go to Alabama and obviously you want to get a degree, but you believe Alabama was going to put you on the track the path to get to the NFL. So this will be the start of a new as I mentioned the start of a new journey. So what's the emotions going to be like? Just you knowing that you came here for this and it was everything that you wanted and more. So it's just like this is what I expected. I appreciate everything that they've done for me.

And it's just like everything that y'all y'all sold to me it was dead it was no oh it's gonna be like this and it wasn't everything they told me how it was gonna be it was exactly like that so I mean like I feel like that's part of the reason that I did go there it was just like they kept it real with me from from the jump it was no always gonna be this and it was and it was like everything was exactly what you told me. Are you going to bring your mom and dad to wherever you go? Are they going to stay back in Louisiana? Mom say she's going

to come by doubt. She's just going to stay. She's not going to leave Louisiana. What did coach say? You mentioned that it was what you thought it would be at the University of Alabama. What did coach Saban promise you it was going to be? That he told me, like, you work, you're going to get what you deserve. He didn't promise you a starting job.

Yeah. That was the main thing with me. Like, everybody, like, oh, you come here, you're going to play. And I'm just like, how do you know I'm going to play? I can come and step foot on campus and something can happen to me and then I don't play. Like, how do you know I're going to play. And I'm just like, how you know, I'm going to play. I can come and step foot on campus and something happened to me and then I don't play like, how do you know I'm going to play? So it was just like, now you come here. There's not no guarantee. We're not giving you nothing like you got to earn it. Like you

going to earn to play. You're going to work to play. So it was just like that. And I mean, I'm all for it all for the work. I don't want nothing given to me. Like make me work for it. What was your first day of practice? Like you go to you. You at the University of Alabama. All these four five-star three-star recruits here and Devante 100 all hundred and fifty pounds. What was that first day of practice? Like to really it was just like another day. I mean

you go out there you see the guys like Mika running Tony all them you see them. They like they yoked up. So you like they kind of realize your boss like in the day. I mean like I ain't here for nothing. They bought me here for a reason. So like just go out here and just be myself. Get through the first day. You like okay, because normally that first day of the first day of practice. I mean you fresh.

It's the second the third day with that sword to start to sneak the to sink in and you got to push through it and all of a sudden the lay that fast twist don't want to turn over and close the sun. You got to get out Devonta. You got to get out the break son. We don't have all day. Come on. Come on Devonta. Hustle it up. I've run a lot like I can run all day. So I didn't necessarily have that problem with like dead legs. Like, I can run all day. So, I didn't necessarily have that problem with, like, dead legs.

Like, I always was like, I can run all day. I'm not going to get tired. Right. But it was more of like, all right, my feet hurting. Right. So, it's like, you got to take care of your feet. You got to cold tub, massage, and stuff like that. So, that's when I really, like, okay, it's the treatment and stuff like that.

The maintenance. You got to get into that. Like, you got to take care of your feet. That's when I first started getting my pedicures and stuff like that. I get into that. Like, you got to take care of your feet. That's when I first started getting my pedicures and stuff like that. I was like, okay, you really got to take care of your feet. That's the only thing that's really slowing you down. You can run all day, but your feet hurting. You got to take care of that.

You mentioned you could run. You ran track. What did you run? I ran everything from 100, 200, 400, triple jump. What did you do in triple jump? 44. Yeah, I beat you. I beat the brakes up. Yeah, I thought you I thought you gonna say you

went 50. Oh, nah, man. Nah, nah. So what was your specialty? What was the event? Like every track meet Devante Adams is going to enter this event. The 400 and triple jump. You a 400. Yeah, I love the 400. That's my favorite race to watch too. I love the four by four and the four and the open for now I don't think I didn't like about the four four. I had nobody on there with me. So it was like the makeup Yeah, yeah that kind of get that kind of getting like gruesome and they expect you to let bra

Do I'm a hundred y'all what else you want me to do? Can we 10 I can make 10 but y'all get there further and further. Y'all y'all pushing the outer limit. Yeah. And plus you beat around a whole bunch of other things. I was a long jumper triple jump through the desk ran both of the relay team. I'm like bro. What? What? What? Come on, bro. I mean, I got no more legs. Yeah. But yeah, most definitely 400 like that was my race. I love it. You go to the state before. Yeah, you win. I came in second. What'd you run? What is that 48?

That's a decent time. That's a decent time. I mean, so the guy that beat you, did he go somewhere? Did he play football? I don't know, but we didn't practice. We just showed up to track me and Jay Ray. What kind of fool is this is that? Hey, man, that's just how it is. Where we from? Just show up. Small town. Yeah, no track practice. We didn't say that. I'll try practice with football practice. You just show up. Well, yeah, that's exactly what it was. What we from just show up small town. Yeah, no track practice. We didn't say that. I'll try practice with football practice. You just show up. Well, yeah, that's

exactly what it was. And track, you know, you ran track to try to get out of spring football. It's like now you doing both of them. Let me ask you a question. We were I'm from back when I play. We used to have what we call Jamboree. So we would play a whole game, but we play two different teams. We play one team for a half and then we play another team for half and then once we that's how we did y'all ever do those. I was Jim Brees just one team for a half, but we did have some scrimmages where it was

like three teams. Then you just do certain Drive against them. So the only position you ever played with wide receiver corner and safety. You never played quarterback. You don't play the no position. I played one snap a quarterback didn't. You never played quarterback. You never played any other position. I played one snap of quarterback. Didn't work out for him. What happened?

You threw a pick? No. You got blasted. They snapped the ball. It was rolling. I picked it up and. You got blasted. Yeah.

You got to jump. See, see, you got to jump on it. You got to jump on the ball. It did everything to be okay. Yeah. I thought I was going to be a hero just then, but no. Never played running back. No. Yeah. See, I was a run. I started just then but not never played running back. No. Yeah. See, I

was running. I started out of running back, but I got tired of saying my bad sharp. My bad. I missed that block. So don't worry about it. I'm going to switch positions in that way. I know who tackling me because I got worried about the by saying my bad. Yeah, Alabama. So from Louisiana, small town of Louisiana, high school star. When you high school star, would you say you would you consider yourself a high school star? Yeah, are you? Are you the best player to come out of your

high school? I think I am. I mean it got night had some people that didn't came out my high school. Anybody we know anybody played major college and go to the next level playing in a PJ Franklin. Anybody played major college and go to the next level playing in a PJ Franklin. Okay, so that's the record. It was guys like that.

So you're the best player in your high school. You're the best player in Alabama. So now you got to finish off this trifecta. You got to be the best player wherever you go. Yeah, I mean, that's how you got to finish off this trifecta. You got to be the best player wherever you go. Yeah, I mean, that's how you want to be. You want to be the best player that you can be best player. You everywhere you go. Just knowing that like

that's that's what you want to get to you wanted to you want to be the best you plan this to be the best. So I mean like that's ultimately what you want. What do you want people to know about Devante Smith that they don't know besides the football player. I mean, obviously they know you're next. You're not outstanding football player. You won the Heisman Trophy back in the year. There are very few guys that can say they won the Heisman Trophy player of the year two-time national champ.

What are some what are some of the things you would like people to know about Devontae outside of football? What do you like to what are your hobbies? What do you like to do? I sit in the house all day. Honestly, I don't do nothing. I don't go out. I see that movie guy. You don't bowl top golf. I mean, I bought me a rose. We'll go bowl stuff like that. But mostly sitting inside play call the dude and cook. That's about it. Oh, you cook? I do a little something.

No, let me take this back. Do you just throw stuff in a pot? I mean, you might be you might be one of the most potluck type of guy. You put a bunch of stuff in a pot and you lucky don't kill you. No. Can you can you cook? I can cook. Okay. So what's the dish? What's your dish? What's your go-to dish? Jambalaya. Oh, my goodness. Okay, so what's so special about your jambalaya?

It's just the flavor of it. I like mine spicy, but anything spicy that's going to make you be like, oh, no, this is spicy. But see, that's what y'all do in Louisiana. See, y'all think if it's so hot, you can't, can't that's good. No, that's not good. If I gotta do rugs made me realize that I gave him some some sausage one time. He was like bro don't ever bring this sausage back. I'm like, it's not even that hot. I had to realize that like our

hot is like, yes. Yes. That's how y'all be doing it down there. Y'all be putting all them spike that stuff down there man. Look here. If I got to do all that, no, it's not. I can't taste it. I'm blowing. I got to drink water. I can't even taste the food. Is that how you cook?

Like, see, you already told me. You like it spicy, but not too spicy. And you just told me your spicy is different than somebody that's not from Louisiana spicy. I kind of got away from that, though. Like, at the beginning beginning it was like, yeah, I'm having spice, but then I had to realize like, all right, eating all this spicy food and going out there running, like, nah,

it ain't gonna work out like that. You gotta tone that down. Right, so, okay, Jumbo Live. What about gumbo, you cook gumbo? I never did gumbo. I never did it. I was thinking about getting into it, but I just ain't got around to it.

Etouffee? I did it to fake before boo day Not never did I'm not be booing you're not big boo day But you know it losing out your everything so y'all try alligator y'all eternal y'all So so so what are some of the delicacies that you partake in it? Turkey niggas neck bones pig feet Put stuff in a ball pot. See I told you, that's what I just told you. I just told you all this pot look. He throw a whole bunch of stuff.

I hope you don't put all that stuff in one pot together. You ain't putting turkey necks and neck bone and chicken feet in the same pot are you? You get that? Hey, that's how you do it man. Oh man, come on man. That's how you do it man. That's how you do it.

It's all gonna come out tasting the same. No, I want a pot of neck bone. I want a pot of turkey necks. I want a pot of chicken feet. I don't want all that together. That's too much. out tasting the same. No, I want a pot of neck bone. I want a pot of turkey necks. I want a pot of chicken feet. I don't want all that together. That's too much. That's too much. That's too much stuff you gotta go get and put in another pot.

That's too much. How about we like, okay, for this meal, we're gonna have turkey necks. Okay, next week or in two weeks or a month, we're gonna have neck bone. If it's just me and it's a couple people, then I'll do it like that. But if it's like a family gathering, nah, we're gonna put it all in one pot That's how y'all do it. Yeah Now we'll do it like that in South Georgia Is all come out

You want to put the turkey necks in some collard greens or you want to put the next you know, uh, uh, uh, uh Ham hocks into black eyed peas. But you can't put all those meats in one pot. You put your turkey necks, your neck bones, all that in one thing. And then you put your corn, your potatoes, your sausage, you put all that in one thing. Okay, I get that.

But not all the meats. You'll be fine, man. I'm telling you. You're gonna be good. No, that's too much to say. I'm tasting, I'm getting sticky with the chicken feet and the neck bones. Chicken feet, I don't know about chicken feet. Nah, I ain't never had no chicken feet. You've never had no chicken feet? Nah, I ain't sticky with the chicken feet I don't know about chicken feet

But you like turkey neck yeah, okay, and you like oxtails neck bone yeah, okay What about corn you cook cornbread? I mean what you just eat meat. Yeah, I can do cornbread red beans with the cornbread Oh, what do you learn to cook from your arm? Yeah, why did you watch your mom cook? Just you see in the kitchen like you go in there like what you cooking? All right, then you watch it like your mom let you be in the kitchen while she was cooking. My grandma didn't play that

boy get your you know what out of here. Grandma ain't play that mama. Grandma ain't she don't want nobody in there while she cooking but mama she gonna let you come in there and watch. So can you cook dessert, sweets, cakes, pies? I can do like brown and stuff like they but I ain't too big on the bacon and stuff like takes you low yeah so are you gonna cook your own meal or are you gonna have a

catering service are you gonna have somebody prepare your meals for you I like cook my own stuff I like if everybody don't know how to season food so like if it's not seasoned right I'm I'm not going to go out there, you know, you can't be eating oxtails and neck bone during the full NFL season. You do. I mean, you do realize I know that but still though every food you got to season it, right? Though you got no matter what it is, you got to have that that flavor with it. Like everybody can't cook stuff with their with their right. Look, you know what? It's a good thing. You can't gain weight because I with their right. You know what? It's a good thing you can't gain weight because

I'm getting the impression you really like, you're a foodie. You like to eat. Yeah, I eat a lot. It just ain't going. I don't know where it's going. So would you prefer to go out and eat or you prefer to stay at home and make it yourself? During the season, I'd rather go out

because I'd be tired. I don't want to do that. I just want to come home and relax. So who are you in in a field in the field see so who gonna be doing the cooking my girl oh she's a cook yeah she's from Louisiana y'all high school now we made in college okay oh she's met solo she's from Louisiana with Alabama too yeah I guess y'all were destined to be together there that are normally happen like that. Hey, I'm glad it worked out that way. I'm glad it worked out for you.

So from high school to college and to now. How would you rate? Devante Smith success on a scale of 1 to 10? I give it a 7. I ain't done yet. I still got some things I got to accomplish. I mean, like you said, this is just the beginning. I got to go to the next level now.

This is the next step to it. So, I mean, I'd say probably a 7. And then once I get through this, if it goes the way that I picture it to go then we'll probably get to a team. What's um what's some of the goals you like to set for yourself in the NFL? Uh of course, pro bowl things like that. Um thousand yard season stuff like that but I mean like trying to get a gold jacket. I mean, I ain't I ain't come this far for nothing. I didn't come this far just to come this far. Yeah, I ain't come this far. Just come this far. I mean, I'm trying to get a gold jacket. I mean, I ain't come this far for nothing. I didn't come this far just to come this far.

Yeah, I ain't come this far just to come this far. I mean, I'm trying to get a gold jacket. Somebody's going to bestow a lot of money, more money than you ever imagined you receiving at one particular time. What's going to be Devontae Smith's big purchase? I'm going to get Pops a truck. I mean... A Range rover pickup truck

no ain't gonna be a range rover it'll be a range but just night that's that's what he's been wanting to pick up trucks so i'm just gonna get him a truck i mean what you gonna do what mom want get mom house get out get out the house that we that she in right now right she's gonna move i mean she goes oh or she gonna stay in it's gonna be in louisiana it's gonna be in a meet somewhere right just not exactly where she ain't not but somewhere in a meet me so i thought she might want to move to new orleans or oh no she ain't trying to she ain't trying to go that far nah if in a way it wouldn't be new orleans no no new orleans nah that for her. Nah, if it wasn't New Orleans. No, no New Orleans. Nah. Pop gets a truck, mom gets a house, what is Devontae gonna get? What's been, since you were six years

old, what car has Devontae Smith always wanted? I started out wanting a Jeep Wrangler, but I didn't have that already. I can't believe you said that. That was my thing coming up, Jeep Wrangler. I just wanted to sit up high and things like that, but I didn't already have that. I look at cars almost every day just trying to figure out what it is I want. Is it going to be contingent on where you go? Because obviously if you go somewhere cold, you're going to have to get an SUV. If you go somewhere warm, you get an suv and a car or you might just say you know what

what could i get that could pass as an suv and car maybe it's a g wagon maybe it's a range rover maybe it's the bentley truck or the uh or the rose truck yeah if i go somewhere where it's real cold then i'm gonna give me something that can that can move around in the snow or something like that but but you still want to look nice now yeah yeah i still want to look good and stuff like that but i do i have been looking into old schools oh you like old school yeah what you like pontiac fiber man i thought you were gonna say something like a a 69 camaro or a 70 chevelle or like a 71 coot or something like this man said a firebird yeah with the with the with the withbird with the Phoenix on the hood.

That's what you're talking about, like a 77, 78 Firebird. Hey, man, everybody got their preference, man. This man set a Firebird. You put him under this? No, sir. Man, you know they're not going to let you pull up there in a Firebird. Hey, man, that's me, man. Just like the car

got not what you got I got an Altima I'm keeping it ain't going nowhere I'm gonna keep that that's my little gas saver that's that's that's the car to keep you humble I keep you humble you like look where I started and then you look over there you like man I got a I got a G wagon I got a roll but also got this to remind me what it took to get that hey man that's the bill gas prices going up I know I can get a good little 20 up out of there not be good man I'm cheap I'm cheap I want you to be cheap you can be as cheap as you want to be but don't be cheap to yourself what you working for hey i work to get my mom and pops right and they got me here they've been taking care of me let me

take care of them so keep the ultimate but get you something nice i'm gonna give me something nice but i'm gonna keep the ultimate too hold on but don't keep don't get the ultimate and then get the firebird and don't get something nicer than the Firebird. We're going to have to see what we get done. Construct the ultimate receiver. I just want you to use Alabama. So all Alabamas from Ozzie Newsome to Don Hudson to Julio to Ridley to yourself to Ruggs. So hands.

Me. Speed. R rugs or water sighs Julio route running with tough that's tough uh I go Calvin really Really? Because I would say, okay, I'm going to take, I want Ridley, I want Amari, I want you, and I want Judy. And I would say, okay, we get 10 rounds. I like Cal. I like Cal.

You got anything you want to ask me? Your suits. I know who your guy is. He said, you got your own little thing. me your suits i i know i know who you guys he said you got your your own little thing i was trying to figure out something he's like oh yeah that that's that's onk stuff right there i'm like dang i'm trying to get like oh trying to have my own little suit collection yeah i mean as you see i'm kind of dressed casual but when you dress 240 your shirt and tie or shirt and jacket 240 days a year when you outside of that you ain't really trying to dress up and I'm not

really trying to go anywhere that I have to dress up but I think that's that says a lot about the individual because you are professional and I think at all times you should look professional I understand you're a football player and people like well you're not a banker or you're a lot of lawyer but I'm a professional and I think you should be professional you should look professional i understand you're a football player and people like well you're not a banker you're a lot of lawyer but i'm a professional and i think you should be professional you should look professional and when people see you outside of your football uniform it's like okay he's professional he take care of himself i try to wear a suit anytime i can i go to the grocery store in a suit if i if i'm about your mind that's just me like I'm gonna be rude with you. I came here. Like I need to bring a suit.

Like I was gonna wear a suit. And then they were like, oh, no, man. Oh, probably gonna have on like look, you can't go to the club. And don't Sue. What got it? See ain't going to the club anyway. So so you want to go ahead and show up at the club with a shirt and you would have sued all it's a Stacey Adams.

No, you go to the club. Let's go to the club. Like this here. Man, I wish you the best of luck, bro. Congratulations on an unbelievable career at the University of Alabama. I love the way you carry yourself. I love the way you put your city on, the way you talk about your mom and your dad, how you're going to take care of them.

So I have nothing but the best of praise for you, man. It was a pleasure to watch you and I appreciate you stopping by club. Shay Shay and giving me some some some of your time and like I said, good luck in the draft and good luck on your next career. Appreciate it. hustle pay the price wanna slice got the roll of dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life all my life been grinding

all my life sacrifice hustle pay the price wanna slice got the roll of dice that's why all my life I've been grinding

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