Vegas Native Excited about Playing for Pokes

He wasn’t healthy enough last season to prompt the Cowboys to offer him a scholarship, but Anthony Smith was more than happy to walk on…

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- His transition to Division I doesn't come with a scholarship.

But Anthony Smith has never been more excited about playing football.

“I feel blessed,” he said. “I’m happy to be here.”

Wyoming began recruiting Smith during his freshman year at Victor Valley College (Victorville, Calif.), a season that saw the speedy running back work his way to the top of southern California’s junior college ranks in kick return average at one point.

But Smith’s good fortune on the football field came to an abrupt end with a hip injury during his sophomore season.

“Once I got hurt, I didn’t play much,” he said. “That was pretty much that.”

Despite the injury and lack of field time, UW coaches got in touch with Smith after the 2007 season and invited him to walk onto the Cowboys’ roster—something the Las Vegas native was more than happy to do.

“Once you get injured, you never know what’s going to happen. You start to look at things a totally different way,” he said. “And I look at football a totally different way. I’m just excited.

“I feel like I have a new lease on my football career.”

If all goes according to plan, that lease will come with three years of eligibility, and Smith said he will talk with UW coaches about possible scholarships in the future if he is able to make an early impact.

“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to happen.”

But whether or not coaches put him on scholarship down the road, Smith said there wasn’t much question about Wyoming being the right fit.

“I feel it’s big-time football, the Mountain West (Conference),” he said. “It’s closer to home. I mean, it’s not too far from Vegas…I get to come back and play against UNLV, and my family can go to UNLV and watch me there.

“And mostly, playing Division-I football has always been a dream of mine, and I’m just ready to make it come true.”

Smith is listed at 5-foot-7 and 177 pounds on Victory Valley’s athletic Web site, but the sophomore said it’s more like 170 pounds and 5-foot-6 and three quarters.

“I’m a short guy with a lot of heart,” he said.

He’s also a short guy with a lot of speed. He has been clocked at 4.4 seconds flat in the 40-yard dash and hopes to contribute to the Pokes’ success in a variety of ways.

“They got me at running back right now,” he said, “and I’m probably going to (be a) kick returner and punt returner.”

Smith has already enrolled in classes at UW and will continue to practice with the team throughout the spring and summer.

And his hip injury is no longer a concern.

“That is one hundred percent in the past,” he said. “This is the best that my body has felt.”