In a game of competitors, Redskins quarterback Alex Smith transcends

Alex Smith and the roots of humility

The Utah football legend rode into the NFL with his reputation soaring, both on and off the field. In his junior season with the Utes, he logged 2,952 passing yards, 42 total touchdowns, and over 600 additional rushing yards. He finished fourth in Heisman voting, and was touted as an early first-round pick as soon as he declared.

The inflation of even a modest ego would not be a surprising effect of that kind of excitement, but Smith inflated nothing but his own draft stock with a personality that caught the eye of coaches. San Francisco’s coach at the time, Mike Nolan, was famously rumored (per For the Win’s Andrew Joseph) to have been swayed toward picking Smith after seeing Smith open a car door for his mother before a meeting with the 49ers.

Smith was selected No. 1 overall by the 49ers, and for eight seasons, he’d reluctantly call the bay area his home. But through the first eight years of his career, Smith went through a number of harrowing trials; ones that have washed other quarterbacks out of the league entirely.

But Smith withstood the circumstances early on, and managed to compete as a starter. It was a start to his career that not only paved the way for a longer tenure, but helped cement humility in a young quarterback’s mind.