CW National Championship Edition Spring 2021

6 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
January 12, 2021
Most Valuable Player: How DeVonta Smith stumbled into the Heisman
BY ALEXANDER PLANT
SPORTS EDITOR
DeVonta Smith woke up at 6 a.m.
on a brisk January Tuesday, hit the
Mal Moore Athletic Facility, worked
with trainers, ate breakfast, practiced
with his teammates and watched film.
It was just a normal day. A normal
day to win the Heisman.
The history of college football has
been defined by two major crowning
achievements every year: the National
Championship and the Heisman
Trophy. From household names like
Tim Tebow to small-town stars like
Derrick Henry, the Heisman defines
the best player from college football
every year.
For many of the recipients, winning
the Heisman is the defining moment
in their career, but for senior wide
receiver Smith, it’s all about “looking
onto Ohio State.”
The 2020-21 season had been
anything but consistent. Players from
schools around the country opted out
of playing, and the largest conferences
of college football postponed their
seasons due to COVID-19. But
one thing remained fairly certain:
Alabama would bring home the
Heisman Trophy. From the season’s
start to finish, Alabama had at least
one player on the Heisman watch
list. The final four finalists were
announced Christmas Eve, and Smith
and Alabama junior quarterback Mac
Jones made the cut.
Alabama football press conferences
were strictly business, even when it
came to Heisman prospects. Smith
nor Jones ever brought up the award
without it being asked of them.
“Right now I’m not really worried
about the Heisman Trophy,” Smith
said to a reporter the day before the
ceremony. “I’m just trying to come in
with the team this weekend, just look
forward to getting on to the game
plan for Ohio State.”
When asked why he and his
teammates always put the team first,
Smith gave a straightforward answer.
“You’re not out there playing by
yourself,” Smith said. “With team
success comes individual success.
If the team is doing good, then
everybody is doing good, and that’s
what it all comes down to.”
The award ceremony, presented
by ESPN, was exactly how Smith
is described by most: quiet. Due
to COVID-19, the ceremony was
virtual, but Smith, Jones and coach
Nick Saban were present in person
in Tuscaloosa. Smith’s overall
message conveyed perseverance
and determination.
You put your mind to
it, you can do it.
DEVONTA
SMITH
“Just to all the young kids out
there that’s not the biggest, not the
strongest, just keep pushing because
I’m not the biggest,” Smith said during
his acceptance speech on ESPN. “I’ve
been doubted a lot just because of my
size, and really it just comes down to:
You put your mind to it, you can do
it. No job is too big. If you put your
mind to it, you can do it, and just
keep believing in God, and you’ll get
where you want to be.”
Smith surely showed that same grit
on the field. This season he caught
105 passes and tallied 1,641 yards and
20 touchdowns. Smith led the nation
in all three of those categories. He also
set milestones both in the SEC and at
Alabama. Smith holds the Alabama
career records for receiving yards and
receiving touchdowns and is 10 yards
away of breaking the conference
record for career receiving yards.
Smith is the Crimson Tide’s thirdever
Heisman winner, joining Mark
Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry
(2015). Alabama is the only school
in the 21st century to have a nonquarterback
win the Heisman.
After the ceremony, Smith
dedicated his achievements to the
culture and foundation that Saban
and Alabama have built over the past
14 years.
“It’s just a family,”
Smith said. “Just
when you got here,
everyone was on the same mission to
become the best player that they can
be and everybody helped each other
in a different way, and just being
around those guys, they’ve taught
me so much just from things on the
field to off the field, and they’ve just
guided me to where I am today, and
I’m so thankful for them.”
Smith went on to say that he never
even thought about winning the
Heisman, and when they announced
it on the broadcast he “blanked out.”
“I’ve had conversations, seen
people send me things about it and I
kind of brushed it off,” Smith said. “I
never sat up there and honestly just
thought about, ‘I could possibly win
it.’”
Smith has stated
countless times that
winning the Heisman
was never his goal.
There were two
things he sought
out to achieve
by the end of
his career at
Alabama: his
degree and
a National
All photos courtesy of Alabama Athletics
Championship title.
Smith is aware that the main part of
being in a lead role at Alabama is the
stardom. But the Amite, Louisiana,
native likes his small-town lifestyle
and prefers to go under the radar.
“I kind of like just being out of the
way,” Smith said. “I’m not the most
vocal person. I don’t like talking that
much. So it was kind of enjoyable
while it lasted. Now things, I have to
talk more. I mean, I’m getting used to
it now. I’m getting better at it, and I
enjoy it.”
Smith said winning the top honor
in college football will not change his
dedication or workload.
“Just remain humble and just
keep doing things the way I’m doing
it,” Smith said. “If I just keep doing
things the way that I’ve been doing it,
it got me here and it’s going to keep
me going.”