One of the best football recruits in NC and the country is suspended for his senior year
If the high school football season started today, West Charlotte running back Daylan Smothers, one of the nation’s best at his position, would not be playing.
Smothers’ father, Desmond Smothers, told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has suspended his son for 365 days due to an eligibility issue. The penalty would essentially mean that Daylan Smothers could not play public school sports in North Carolina for the 2022-23 school year — his senior season.
Desmond Smothers said the family has hired a lawyer and is planning to appeal the district’s decision.
“I don’t have much to say,” Desmond Smothers told The Observer. “We do have lawyers involved. It’s just an unfortunate situation and my son is innocent in this whole thing. He had nothing to do with an address change or anything like that. I hate he’s been put in the middle of this as a child. I’m meeting with the lawyers this week and I don’t know when we’ll go before the (CMS Board of Education) and appeal it. But hopefully, it’ll be soon, so we can concentrate on what’s important.”
Daylan Smothers is a two-time Charlotte Observer offensive player of the year. After his sophomore season, he was named Mr. Football in North Carolina, the state’s top award, after helping Chambers High to a second straight N.C. 4AA state championship.
Last season, as a junior, ran for 1,581 yards and 28 touchdowns, leading Chambers to a third straight state championship game appearance. Before Chambers lost to Raleigh’s Cardinal Gibbons in the state final, Smothers was announced as a top-three finalist for Mr. Football 2021.
But in late April, Smothers announced via an Instagram video that he was leaving Chambers to return to West Charlotte, moving in with his mother who lives in the West Charlotte district.
A few weeks later, Chambers athletic officials told The Observer that the school had been made aware that a football player on the 2021 team was ineligible. The player in question was Smothers, whom the school reported was living out of district during the season.
As a result, the Cougars had to forfeit all of their games from the fall. Now, Smothers faces the possibility of missing his final year.
Desmond Smothers said his son found out about the suspension during the first week he was at West Charlotte in the spring. He said West Charlotte school officials handed Daylan Smothers a letter in class with his name on it. When Daylan opened the letter, he read how he was not going to be eligible.
“He called me and his mom,” Desmond Smothers said. “We were not aware, and we got the information from him. They didn’t talk to any adult.”
247 Sports’ composite ranking of several services lists Smothers as the nation’s No. 12 recruit nationally at running back. He took his first official visit to Oklahoma last weekend, his father said.
Daylan Smothers has more than two dozens offers from schools such as Oklahoma, Alabama, Charlotte, Florida State, Michigan and N.C. State.
One option for him to play this season would be at a private school. Desmond Smothers said the family has “given it a thought” but hasn’t spoken with any private school officials about a potential move.
He said the family is focused on getting Daylan Smothers back on the field at West Charlotte.
“Daylan should be able to play the season,” Desmond Smothers said. “There’s no reason why he should have been (suspended). I think he’s been targeted and the way they handled it was so unprofessional, how they gave (the letter) to him. It’s an address misunderstanding on their part that they didn’t come and get clearance on.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 3:53 PM with the headline "One of the best football recruits in NC and the country is suspended for his senior year."
