Virginia Golfer July / August 2023 | Page 31

Living Large at Bayville
Smith ’ s personalized “ 200 Sacks ” Titlelist golf ball .
best buddies in a golf tournament , that ’ s the substitute for being on the field . And it feels pretty damn good .”
SMITH HAS PLAYED IN PLENTY OF CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNAMENTS , including the famous American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lake Tahoe in Nevada . Among his opponents : basketball legend Michael Jordan .
“ Playing with MJ , it ’ s very competitive . He does not like to lose ,” Smith said . “ There ’ s an old story about MJ . You ask him , ‘ What do you want to play for ?’ And he says , ‘ Whatever makes you uncomfortable .’ It ’ s a good feeling to have that competition going back and forth with some of the best athletes in the world . Now we ’ re playing golf , and we have that mentality of competing against one another , in a different sport .
“ I remember playing with ( Charles ) Barkley ( at Tahoe ). We were paired up , along with Chris Webber . I was even par going into the 7th hole , on the water where all the boats are lined up . And everybody always told me , ‘ Just don ’ t look at his swing . Don ’ t look at his swing .’ I turned around and peeked one time and I just laughed . So I go up to hit my ball , and I just shanked it into the boats . Needless to say , I was not even par from that point on .”
IN 2009 , IN HIS FIRST YEAR OF ELI- GIBILITY , Smith was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame , not surprising considering he concluded his career with 200 sacks ( an NFL record ) and 43 forced fumbles in 297 games .
“ After all the hard work , after 13 surgeries , the concussions , dislocated shoulders , separated shoulders , torn ligaments , dislocated fingers , to know that all of this hard work paid off , and to be recognized as the less than one percent to ever play this game , it was very fulfilling ,”
Smith said . “ The NFL just celebrated its 100th anniversary and it selected the top 100 players of the last 100 years , and I was one of them . If you take that number , I ’ m in that quarter of percent of a class of the greatest NFL players who have ever played the game . This body of work that I was able to achieve over the course of my career didn ’ t come easy . It came with a lot of pain , a lot of injuries , a lot of surgeries , a lot of study and a lot of commitment and dedication to the game . To be from the 757 , and to do it as a resident of Virginia and still call this place home , it feels pretty good .”
SMITH , OF COURSE , HAS CANDID THOUGHTS ABOUT the state of the Virginia Tech football program , which bottomed out at 3-8 in 2022 , the Hokies ’ worst record since the 2-8-1 season in 1992 that nearly cost Frank Beamer his job . During Smith ’ s four years in Blacksburg ( 1981-84 ), the Hokies went 31-14 as an independent . They played in one bowl game in an era where it took a lot
Smith smiles during a round with fellow former NFL players from Virginia , Darren Perry and Larry Griffin . more than a 6-6 record to qualify for the postseason .
“ I think we ’ re on the right track . First of all , Justin Fuente was not a good fit for Virginia Tech ,” Smith said . “ We couldn ’ t recruit . The personality didn ’ t fit our program . Ultimately , we weren ’ t able to get the top recruits from Virginia , which is the foundation of our history of success . It was my opinion that we should have relieved him of his duties three years prior to when it was actually done . It really set our football program back . As a result of that , we ’ re working hard to regain our competitiveness and our success in the ACC .
“ Brent ( Pry , the Hokies ’ second-year coach ) is 100 percent doing that . I just spoke with him last week . Matter of fact , I ’ m about to meet with a young man who has just committed to Virginia Tech , a pass rusher . I told Brent , that out of all the years that we had the other head coach , we may have had two or three conversations . You ’ re talking about the first player that came out of that school who was picked first in the NFL Draft . You ’ ve got a recruiting tool that lives in the state of Virginia that you ’ re not using . Brent recognized that . He ’ s made the necessary changes to engage not only myself , but Michael Vick and other players who have gone on to make a name for themselves at the next level . There ’ s a tremendous amount of value in having us speak about the vision of Virginia Tech football , and how we ’ re going to get back .”
CHRIS LANG vsga . org J ULY / A UGUST 2023 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 29