2012 East #81
Adam Smith
Defensive Line
6’1″ 220
High School Coach: Jason Malloy
High School: Ypsilanti, A
College: Grand Valley State University
Adam’s parents are Jermaine Cannon and Yvonne Smith. He has seven brothers and sisters: Rachel, Kristina, Joshua, Melik, Samuel, Precous and Angel. Adam is the the oldest. Adam is the first member of his family to attend college. He said, “In this, I hope to be a leader and set an example for my younger siblings.”
Adam’s football career started when he was in the seventh grade when he played for Ferndale Middle School, at offensive line and nose guard. After seventh grade, Adam started running and lifting weights. H elost weight and became musch more mobile, as a result, he was moved to linebacker and running back. He played on the JV team as a freshman and was asked to move to varsity as a sophomore to play running back. That didn’t happen as, the family moved to Ypsilanti during Adam’s sopomore year. As a junior Adam was moved to defensive end. At first unenthusiastic about the position change, Adam studied NFL defensive end play and soon found success at the new position. He was named all conference as a junior. As a senior, he accumulted 48 tackles, 12 sacks, and 14 tackles for loss. He was named first team All State, All Southeastern Conference and Ann Arbor Dream Team. Adam will attend Grand Valley State University to continue his academic and football careers.
In high school, Adam also played basketball, track, swimming and wrestling. After just two weeks of wrestling practice, Adam took second in districts and made it to regionals. He also picked up hurdling quickly and intends to run those events at GVSU.
Adam said, “I believeI never would have known my potential in sports if it hadn’t been for my mom and dad supporting me every step of the way.” Adam thanked, “all my coaches from Ferndale – mainly coach Dunlap”. He also thanked his defensive line coaches at Ypsilanti, Marcus Hatch and Dion Powell. He said, “I really thank Coach Malloy for helping me get in college and creating a better future for me, but above all I thank God, for he has helped me every step of the way and gave me the strength to go on and play at my fullest potential.”
Awards
1st Team All Region, 2011
Honorable Mention All State, 2011
1st Team All District, 2011
1st Team All Monroe County, Monroe Evening News, 2011
All Washtenaw County, 2011
1st Team, Heritage News, 2011
1st Team MHSFCA Academic All State, 2011
National Football Foundation Wistert Chapter Scholar Athlete, 2011