photo by: Contributed photo

South Dakota offensive lineman Noah Smith had a tough first season after graduating from Lawrence High. After a spiral of coaching changes and a broken thumb, Smith is ready to make a splash at fall camp.

Noah Smith just wants to play football.

Any kid in Lawrence understands that dream. It’s on display for them every Friday night in the fall.

And for three years, Smith did it at the varsity level for Lawrence High. The All-Sunflower League offensive lineman was a part of three winning LHS seasons – 2019, 2020 and 2021 – and went on to score a spot on the scholarship roster at the University of South Dakota after graduating in 2021.

Smith was in for a bit of a culture shock.

Redshirting his freshman year, Smith hung on through a whirlwind 3-8 season that saw multiple coaches leave head coach Bob Nielson’s staff, including Smith’s position coach, Andrew Prevost, who recruited Smith out of high school.

Going from the varsity team to the scout team has a mental effect, Smith said.

“It was tough coming from here, in Lawrence, where I never really played JV,” Smith said. “It’s kind of hard playing scout team, which I’ve never had to do before.”

photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World Photo

Lawrence seniors Evan Banister (11) Noah Smith (74) and Truman Juelsgaard (7) pose with their Regional Championship plaque after defeating Junction City 38-21 Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.

Jeff Nady, a former lineman and position coach at Nevada, was named USD’s next offensive line coach earlier this year.

Watching Smith battling through a broken thumb this offseason, Nady said the 325-pound lineman stood out to him during spring ball, when the newly hired coach was still assessing a brand new unit.

“He had thumb surgery over the summer and that limited him, but you look over and he’s doing front squats grabbing the bar by a rope that’s tied to his shoulder, just so he could still do it,” Nady said. “He’s found a way to continue to work and not every guy does that.”

Cleared for full contact two weeks ago, Smith said he’s turning toward the “reckless abandon” he played with back in high school.

“I feel like I need to tap back into my roots a little bit,” Smith said. “I feel like bringing that aggressive style of play I did play with in high school… Once you learn your playbook and learn your assignment, you can play a little bit freer and really attack.”

Nady’s presence has opened up the room and allowed Smith to play a far more confident brand of football, specifically with the passing game. Most of all though, Smith feels the linemen have a true instructor that can facilitate growth in Year 2.

“We all play Division I football,” Smith said. “It’s hard to teach a lot of guys to make it better, but he’s definitely been able to do that. I’ve been able to take a lot from him and add that to my toolbox.”

Off the field, Smith’s made sure to spend some time at home.

While most of his time off was spent at home with family, specifically his mom, Smith said he reconnected with an old teammate, former LHS kicker Grant Glasgow. Glasgow, who spent one year at Kansas, is taking his leg to Montana this fall.

“I talked to him a lot about our experiences,” Smith said. “Especially with him going out of state, I’m able to help with that transition.”

This summer, Smith’s also maintained contact with Greg Farley, an administrator at Lawrence High and former linebacker at South Dakota State, as well as current LHS head coach Clint Bowen.

With just under a month until Week 1 at Missouri on Aug. 31, Smith is on Nady’s radar as fall camp gets underway.

“He’s got some high expectations,” Nady said of Smith. “It’s his second camp with me, if you count the spring, but the second season we want to see some stuff click for him and he’s going to have to put that on film, but he’s in the mix with the 18 other guys. We only travel 10 and he’s going to battle to be in that.”

Smith is currently pursuing a degree in kinesiology while playing football at USD.