The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2019 If the NFL comes calling, it would be Smith-William's last box to check off for college accomplishments, following gradu- ation and getting a job. Becoming A Success Off The Field Most college graduates do not have jobs lined up for them. Smith-Williams though is not most college students. He started at NC State eyeing an indus- trial engineering major. After two semes- ters, he realized that may be too much. "You try to find the balance of what is the best thing for you, and at the time it was not engineering," he noted. Instead, he found a cousin of sorts to in- dustrial engineering: business supply chain. "[It] is more on the technical side of business," he said. "It's a lot more numbers, figured-based, so it touches on the same elements engineering has." During one of his classes, members of IBM came to speak. When class was over, Smith-Williams introduced himself. With the help of former teammate and current IBM employee Ernie Robinson, Smith-Williams landed an internship last summer. At the end of it, Smith-Williams was offered a job that will be waiting for him when his playing days are over, whenever that may be. He's repeating the internship this summer. "I wanted to graduate, I get to check that box off in December," he said. "I wanted to get a job, and I get to check that box. The next box is professional football." NC State head coach Dave Doeren could see all the success coming for Smith-Williams, dating all the way back to his recruitment. "James was incredibly intelligent, high GPA, high test scores," Doeren remem- bered. "He had goals for after football. He was a lot further along than most people are — probably even 30 years old are — mentally when he was in high school." During his time at NC State, Smith-Wil- liams has served on the ACC's Student- Athlete Advisory Committee and found time to be an active volunteer in the com- munity, with an admitted preference to working with children. He even became a viral sensation of sorts last fall for being a good Samaritan when his mother noticed a shopper at Cary Crossroads had a flat tire. She told Mary Anne Rutkowski that her "little boy" could change the tire. "So I get out of the car and I see her little boy, James, who is really tall," Rutkowski told WRAL. "They were just the nicest, most pleas- ant people that you could have imagined in a situation like this," Rutkowski added. "They really set the benchmark high on reaching out and helping people." Being a student-athlete is not easy. Smith-Williams admitted that while work- ing at IBM there can be long days without much downtime. "But it goes back around to what you deem important," he noted. "Do you deem you want to have a future career after foot- ball or even with football? "I think the biggest thing is to priori- tize. You have to know what's important to you. Some guys, they prioritize partying. If that's what you think is the most important thing for you, then that's for you. But you have to understand you are here for a small timeframe and there are a lot of things to accomplish. "If you really truly care about football and you really truly care about academics, you have to put those things at the top of your list. If you always stick to your priori- ties, it's pretty simple." It's the type of attitude that Doeren wants in a leader of his football team. Since his arriving at NC State, the player wear- ing No. 1 tends to be emblematic of the team culture. During a team meeting in the spring, a slide popped up highlighting Smith-Williams' work, especially in the community. The next slide was a congratu- latory one for being the next to wear No. 1. "It was awesome," Smith-Williams said. "It definitely feels good to be rewarded for things that you have done." But Smith-Williams isn't done yet. He still has one more box to check off — the NFL. ■ "If you really truly care about football and you really truly care about academics, you have to put those things at the top of your list. If you always stick to your priorities, it's pretty simple." ■ Smith-Williams Smith-Williams played an important role in setting up and executing a donation drive in May for Interact, a Wake County-based non-profit agency providing support for domestic and sexual vio- lence survivors. PHOTOS COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS