CULLMAN, Ala. – Former Bearcat Houston Smith is the latest local standout to make his college decision and he’ll be heading to Huntingdon to play for Head Coach Mike Turk and the Hawks. Smith will join several other area players on the Hawks roster this fall, including Holly Pond’s Kyler Chaney, Cold Springs’ Lawson Burgess and Vinemont’s Dallin Dinkle. Smith celebrated his signing at his home with his family, friends and coaches Tuesday.
Smith made a lot of plays for the Bearcats on the defensive side of the ball last season and collected several scholarships including the Cullman County Hall of Fame Scholarship, the Dale W. Cook Scholarship, the David Brannon Memorial Scholarship, the Jackson Lambert Memorial Scholarship, the Christine McKoy Drake Scholarship and the President A.A. Lipscomb Scholarship but he’ll probably be best remembered by his coaches and teammates for something else. Smith was this year’s Bill Shelton Award recipient. The award is voted on by the football coaching staff and is presented to the player who has overcome the most adversity. Cullman Head Coach Oscar Glasscock was in attendance for Tuesday’s signing and talked about some of Houston’s attributes that earned him this award and the opportunity to play at the next level.
“The Bill Shelton Award is something we give to kids just like Houston. He’s a hard worker that’s had to overcome adversity, has had to fight for everything he’s gotten and that epitomizes Houston,” Glasscock said. “Him getting the opportunity to play college football is not a surprise to me because he’s overcome a lot of obstacles and adversity and he’s a deserving winner of the award and he’s very deserving of this opportunity to play at the next level.”
Glasscock praised Smith’s work ethic on the field, but he credits his efforts in the classroom just as much for opening up this opportunity.
“The thing about Houston is his academics opened the door up for him as much as anything. Division III football is a true student athlete, 50-50 type of deal. You have to have a good ACT score, good grades and be a great student to be admitted to the school and then they let you be on the football team. So, he’s a perfect candidate for that because he is such a great student,” Glasscock said. “He works in the classroom just as hard as he works on the football field and that’s pretty hard.”
Smith was an impact player for Cullman on the defensive end last year thanks in large part to his tenacity and effort and Glasscock is confident that attitude will carry over into even more aspects of Houston’s life.
“Houston’s relentless. He never gives up on a play, he’s going to pursue the football until the whistle blows and what you see on Friday nights is what you see Monday through Thursday in practice,” Glasscock said. “He’s just a worker and he plays the game to what I feel like is the Cullman standard where you’re playing as hard as you can play and you’re doing your job. Everybody has a particular role to play and he buys into that. He’s a very unselfish guy and a great teammate so I know he’s going to be successful in whatever he ends up doing in college and in life in general.”
Glasscock only had one year to coach Houston at Cullman but in that time, Houston made a big impression and Glasscock admires the way he embraced another new coaching staff and made the best out of his senior season.
“You hear a lot of negative things about young people these days, but I have nothing but admiration for a guy like Houston. Houston was part of a senior class that really bought into what we were doing here and that just means the world to me coming in as a first year coach because I know its tough when you’re a senior and there’s been so much change but it didn’t stop him from having a great senior year,” Glasscock said. “So, I’m really proud of him and I’m really glad I got the opportunity to coach him, even if it was just for one year.”
Houston is excited to meet more of his new teammates and coaches at Huntingdon later this summer, especially after really enjoying a visit to campus earlier this year.
“I’m looking forward to meeting some new people. It’s going to be a different environment and getting to play some more football is very exciting, but it’ll just be a different experience being off on my own,” Smith said. “We went down there when they were allowed to have us for a visit and I really liked the campus and coaches, they were very nice.”
Smith will be joining a handful of local players on the Hawks roster this fall and he’s looking forward to getting to know them a little better as well.
“It’ll be really cool. I don’t really know them that well, I do know a couple of them,” Smith said. “But yeah it’ll be really cool to have some other people from Cullman there and get to know them a little better.”
Houston credits his coaches at Cullman for pushing him to keep improving as a player and enjoyed building relationships with his teammates as well.
“I loved the coaching here at Cullman. They pushed you and pushed you and I loved that it wasn’t a really big 7A school because you can have good relationships with other players and coaches,” Smith said. “I think they got me ready just by pushing me and always believing in me.”
Smith is already starting to think about some things he wants to improve on for the upcoming season to begin earning some playing time on the field
“Well right now I’ve got to put on some size. I was small in high school so I’m going to be very small compared to some of those college guys,” Smith joked. “Once I get down there, I just want to work some more on my agility and improve my skill and technique.”
Of all his academic and athletic accomplishments during his time playing at Cullman High School, the one Houston may be the most proud of is receiving the Bill Shelton Award from his coaches after a high school play career defined by working hard.
“It’s the biggest honor that you can really get playing football at Cullman. It’s the biggest award I would say and it’s a really big honor to be voted for that,” Smith said. “I wasn’t a Division I starter or the best one out there, but I gave it all I had every time and just believed in myself and my coaches.”
Copyright 2020 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
