Local NFL vet Willie Smith: ‘Why not give back to the community?’

There was no mistaking whose football camp this was.

Surrounded by about 50 kids age 5 to 14 and several high school coaches was the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder wearing a No. 69 Washington Redskins jersey.

Welcome to the first Willie Smith Football Camp.

But the giant offensive tackle was approachable, too, flashing a wide grin and open arms as he guided drills on the Smithfield-Selma High School football field. And later, after a thunderstorm chased campers inside the Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center next door, Smith relished the chance to pose for pictures and sign autographs.

After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Smith, 28, was just like the kids on the field Saturday. Smith grew up in Smithfield and played at North Johnston before moving to East Carolina – and later the NFL.

“I just felt led to do a free camp here in Johnston County because nobody else is doing it, and I’m from Johnston County,” Smith said. “I’m in the NFL, so I said, ‘Why not give back to the community? Why not give the kids something to do?’”

Smith went to high school with Mike Parrish, an assistant coach at SSS, so having the camp here made sense. Plus, Spartans head coach Wes Hill offered the field for free.

“They’ve got a great football program here, and they allowed me to use their facilities and didn’t ask for anything,” Smith said. “They just said, ‘Hey, we just want to support you.’ That was huge. I really appreciate it.

“We had a good turnout for my first camp. I’m really happy. I had a good time, and it seems like the kids had a great time today, too.”

Kids were broken into six stations on the field, running drills Smith learned in the NFL. Teaching proper mechanics was one of the goals, but Smith had a bigger motivation, too.

“No. 1, with childhood obesity going on today, I wanted to get out here and show them it’s OK to have fun and run around outside,” Smith said. “I think they really got something from it today, I really do.”

Smith signed with the Redskins earlier this month, rejoining the team he started with in the NFL. He’ll be battling for a spot on the offensive line under new line coach Bill Callahan when Redskins camp starts July 30.

“The opportunity was there,” Smith said. “It’s so much better to be on the East Coast than the West Coast. I’m only four-and-a-half hours away from home, and I could see my family. It’s so much better. This is where I started out, and I felt like I left on a bad note, so I got at opportunity to come back, go out there and compete and earn respect.

“Going into camp, I’m fighting for a swing tackle spot. Obviously, with the way football goes, with injuries, you could have your opportunity to play, so when that time comes, I’m going to play like a starter. It’ll be a contract year for me. If I go play well, I’ll have the opportunity to get an extension.”

Washington finished a disappointing 4-12 a season ago, but Smith believes the ingredients are there for a good season – particularly with a healthy quarterback in Robert Griffin III.

“Everybody is competing and working hard,” Smith said. “RGIII, he looks great. He’s running around, throwing the ball great. Callahan is getting the guys ready, and he’s working us. I really think we’ll have a great year this year.

“It’s definitely good to have a quarterback who can run. You don’t want to get beat, but if you do get beat, you’ve got somebody back there who can run. It’s good to have that. And the guy can flat-out throw the ball. It’s exciting to block for a guy like RGIII.”

This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Local NFL vet Willie Smith: ‘Why not give back to the community?’."