Wide receiver Caleb Smith was doing everything from punt returns to big yard plays. The football coach for La Salle Institute in New York, wanted the ball in the sophomore’s hands.

“I was doing really well that game,” Smith said. “So the coach kept feeding me the ball, and that play was designed for somebody else, but he actually was like, ‘No put Caleb here so he gets the ball.'”

“That play” turned out to be costly for Smith and would cause him to remember that game for all of the wrong reasons.

Smith was lined up for a tunnel screen. When he caught the ball, there was a defender coming at him, so he went to plant and cut, but his foot got stuck in the turf. At this moment one defender hit Smith in his knee and another defender hit him up top. When the pile cleared, Smith was left lying on the turf with a type of pain he’s never felt before. 

“It just feels like if you ever hit your funny bone, it feels like that times 1,000,” he said. 

Smith suffered a torn ACL and meniscus.

Hell-bent on playing football, Smith was looking forward to an easy recovery, but that would be thwarted due to a series of surgeries. These surgeries resulted in him never playing another down of high school football again. He got his ACL and meniscus repaired. The ACL healed fine, but the meniscus kept nagging. The doctors then decided to remove the entire meniscus, also with no success.

It was at this moment, Smith was told to start thinking about other things to do with his life because he would probably never be able to play sports again, especially at a high level. Then, Smith found hope when all hope was lost, when he came across the option of a meniscus transplant.

About a year-and-a-half later, around 2016, the doctors found a match for the transplant and Smith traveled to Boston to receive a successful surgery. From there on Smith began his journey to playing football again.

Now a wide receiver for Towson University, Smith has taken a lot of punishing hits over his career, but a global pandemic was one that neither he nor anyone else saw coming. Like other players, Smith had to sit out the 2020 fall football season, but he was better prepared than most.

“The injury, everything, it was just me. So right now, this is kind of easy,” Smith said. “I'm just being patient because I already know things work out. Things are going to work out, I'm just being patient.”

Smith, son of Towson athletics Hall of Famer Rodney Smith, has played sports for as long as he can remember. Since his dad played professional football and his mom is an athlete, it was almost inevitable that Smith would participate in athletics himself. 

Smith began playing flag football at four years old and before that he played soccer. He begantackle football as soon as he reached the eligible age.

Although Towson is his father’s alma mater, he says that didn’t impact his decision to go there as well. There were a lot of factors that led him to Towson.

Around the time Smith was looking for a college to call home, he found out that his uncle, Reggie Smith, who is from Baltimore, was sick.

“I've made it one of my things to make sure he is able to see me play because I didn’t play in high school and stuff,” Smith said. “He's one of the guys that helped me through my injury.”

Smith felt that he had to go to a school close to his uncle, and with Towson being so close to Baltimore, he saw it as the perfect fit. His uncle died in the summer of 2016 and never got to see him play for Towson. 

Going to Towson, Smith knew that he had to get on the football team and that he would have to attend tryouts, but he didn’t have any stats or notoriety because of the injury that prohibited him from playing out his high school career. He’d have to work harder than everyone else if he even wanted an opportunity to get on the Tigers football team.

Before beginning his first semester at Towson, Smith would train three times a day. It was more than just physical training; it was mental as well. Over the course of his training, Smith felt like he got the blueprint of what he would need to do in order to make it.

The summer before entering his freshman year at Towson, Smith spoke with the Towson director of football operations. He informed Smith that in order to be part of the team practices, he would need to be part of the help staff. There was some confusion on Smith’s part of what this role entailed. 

“I'm thinking I could still run some routes with the guys you know, stuff like that. But it turns out, no I’m literally being put to work, picking up stuff and setting up drills and holding the chains at practice and spotting the ball and stuff like that,” Smith said. 

This role got Smith close to the games, and he thinks it was a way to show his dedication and earn trust. He credits it to getting a shot at a tryout in 2017.

Towson football head coach Rob Ambrose was impressed with Smith’s work ethic, calling it “unparalleled”.

“He had been around us and knew what to expect,” said coach Ambrose. “That coupled with his athleticism...we knew we had to give him a shot.”

The tryout was short, only around 30 minutes, and consisted of stretching, a 40-meter dash, cone drills and one-on-ones. Smith thinks he stood out over the rest because of how much the coaches were able to see him during one-on-ones.

“I kept getting reps. I kept going to the front of the line, but it was probably 20 receivers,” said Smith. “They probably only went once, maybe twice, but I probably went five, six times. I would run a route, come right back to the quarterback, tell him the route, and go again.”

Smith spent a lot of time on his own during the recovery period for his injury. He didn’t even go to his high school tournament games to cheer on his team. “I just wanted to hide,” he said. Smith would try to push people away, but they were always there for him. He ultimately credits God and prayers for helping him stay positive and optimistic during that time.

Smith has a lot to be positive about now, since he’s become a productive player for the Tigers.

In the 2019 season against the Delaware Blue Hens, Smith had a total of 200-yards receiving on nine catches. Most people would point to that as his breakthrough in his career at Towson, but for Smith personally, he thinks it was the 2019 game against Villanova. The game didn’t start off too well, and he got so frustrated that he was on the verge of quitting. After a pep talk from wide receivers coach Justin Harper, Smith began dominating and would finish the game with five receptions for 54-yards.

Smith is hoping to play professionally after college, but he realizes that football doesn’t last forever. After football, Smith plans on settling down and having a family of his own, and even sees himself potentially coaching youth football. He also plans to make up for lost time with his family, especially his nieces and nephews. He thinks that the sacrifices he is making now will pay off in due time.

The Towson Tigers will not be playing football during the spring 2021 season and will begin preparations for the traditional 2021 fall season instead. Caleb Smith is just fine with that. He would rather wait until the COVID-19 pandemic settles and things are back to normal. Part of the reason he needed to get so many surgeries was because he tried to get back on the field quicker than recommended, so he’s content with waiting it out.

“I'm not saying I don't miss football, I definitely miss it,” Smith said. “But I know that trying to rush things back isn't good, and I learned that from my injury.”

Smith feels that sitting out the majority of his high school career has benefited him when it comes to COVID-19 and the uncertainty of when he’ll be back on the field. It’s actually easier on him because he’s not the only one going through the situation this time.