Like Father, Like Son
November 18, 2022 | Football
STARKVILLE – Brent Smith remembers showing up to his son's first football game as a sophomore at Pontotoc High School and seeing something special.
Brent, a former first team All-SEC offensive tackle at Mississippi State and nine-year NFL veteran, knew in that moment that Cole Smith had a bright future in football and may have a shot to one day follow in his footsteps.
"During his sophomore year of high school, he looked really pretty up there on that offensive line," Brent said. "Not pretty like a beauty contest pretty either. He had the tools and the motor that he has is what is special."
When your father plays football as long as Brent did, there was a natural desire for Cole to do the same. However, Cole was never pressured to play football growing up. Instead, he participated a variety of sports and only vaguely remembers "bits and pieces" of his dad's NFL career because it ended when Cole was just five.
"He really let me stand on my own and pick what I wanted to do," Cole said. "I played t-ball, soccer and all that growing up. He never forced (football) on me. It was my own decision."
Brent was a two-way player for the Bulldogs as a freshman in 1993 and started every game as a defensive end the following season before switching to the offensive line full-time to finish out his career.
Brent started every game at offensive tackle during his final two seasons in Starkville in 1995-96 earning first team All-SEC and All-American honors. He played in both the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl before being drafted in the third round by the Miami Dolphins.
Brent went on to play in 57 career games and make 30 starts in the NFL with the Dolphins, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars before retiring following the 2005 season.
Years later when Cole chose to put on the pads as well, only then did Brent begin to impart his wisdom of working in the trenches.
"He helped me a lot with effort, finishing and technique," Cole said. "He really taught me to have passion for the game and playing the game the way it's supposed to be played."
That knowledge and natural ability led to Cole being tabbed as the No. 2 center prospect in the country and a four-star prospect by ESPN. He signed with LSU out of high school and appeared in two games as a true freshman for the Tigers 2018 before making the decision to transfer to his father's alma mater and be closer to home.
Due to NCAA transfer rules at the time, Cole was forced to sit out the 2019 season. It was during that year that Cole credits a lot of his development and devotion to the game to.
"I got to learn from a lot of guys like Darryl Williams and Tyre Phillips, crafty veterans that went on to the next level," Cole said. "It really helped me to learn from those guys and get that experience. It was also a real humbling experience to step back and see the big picture of things taking that year off."
Cole's hard work and dedication to his craft certainly paid off during his sophomore season in 2020. He played in 10 of MSU's 11 games that season and made nine starts at center. He started and made every offensive snap in the Bulldogs' 44-34 win over his former LSU team, helping pave the way for 632 yards in the process.
The following spring, Cole shifted to guard and has seemed to settle in at his new spot. The now 6-foot-3, 305-pound senior has started 16 straight games there, including all 10 at right guard this season.
"I think the season has been going pretty well for me," Cole said. "I'm learning and developing every week and going against better competition, especially in the big SEC games that we've had this year. There's been a lot of great competition to be able to gauge yourself, how far you've come and help you get a lot better."
Even though Cole's dad was heavily influential during his early development, Brent now leaves the tips and pointers to members of State's coaching staff. But he concedes that Cole, now a veteran of trench warfare himself, is pretty good at critiquing his own game.
"Even if I want to say something, I don't," Brent said. "He needs to hear all of that from the coaches. I just try to be a dad. But, of course, he looks far better in college than I ever did anyways. He's a student of the game and can coach himself up pretty good."
Brent supported his son during his freshman year in Baton Rouge and admits being able to make the much shorter trek from Pontotoc to Starkville has been a blessing. It also helps that he can reminisce a little about his own career while seeing his son on the line sporting the same college uniform he once did.
"I think about that every time I come to a home game there in Starkville," Brent said. "It makes me think back to my days out there. But now I'm old and to have my son out there is pretty special. First of all, not many guys get the chance to play somewhere like this and second of all, to have their son play here too has been pretty special. I'm super proud of him."
