In the Spotlight: DeVonta Smith Continues to Shine Despite Becoming Defenses' Primary Focus

The Crimson Tide senior wide receiver has gone off this season since Jaylen Waddle suffered a season-ending ankle injury

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When Alabama football junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle went down with a season-ending ankle injury on the opening kickoff against Tennessee back on Oct. 24, DeVonta Smith had no idea how much he was going to be thrust into the spotlight.

Smith, a senior wide receiver on a roster packed with receiving talent, is known for his quiet and humble demeanor and has mostly shied away from questions regarding him taking Waddle’s place as the primary receiver for Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.

On Monday, though, after being pressed with questions about the situation during his virtual availability with the media, Smith finally began to open up on the situation that led to him being one of the top players in Heisman Trophy conversations.

The primary reason for his silence on the matter? He believes Waddle’s injury was partly his fault.

“Really, it was shocking because I kind of felt like it was my fault,” Smith said regarding his initial emotions when Waddle went down. “The return shouldn’t have come out, so I kind of felt bad, and after a while, it was like, that’s the plan that God had, that’s the route God wanted to take with him so I can’t sit here and put all of that on myself.

"It definitely made me feel some type of way, but the way I’m playing right now, all because of him. Him going down, taking on a bigger role, knowing that’s something I have to do. I’m doing it for him.”

While Smith was already a staple in the Crimson Tide’s offense prior to Waddle’s injury, his role has dramatically increased in size. Smith now holds the all-time SEC receiving touchdown record with 38 and is just 27 yards away from being Alabama’s all-time leader in receiving yards.

If you watch the full video of the kickoff, you can see Smith have his back turned to the incoming kick coverage, expecting Waddle to call for a fair catch in the end zone. When Waddle fields the ball and begins to move out of the end zone, you can then see Smith suddenly adjust to Waddle’s movement and begin to block, although you can tell that he wasn’t expecting a return on the play.

Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle headed to the locker room after rolling his ankle on the opening kickoff pic.twitter.com/68wyzAZW72

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 24, 2020

When Waddle is tackled awkwardly by Tennessee and has difficulty getting up on his feet, Smith is the first one there by his side. It was at that moment that he knew something was wrong with the star receiver.

Smith admitted that after the team returned home and he got speak to Waddle, he had a conversation with him about how he felt he shouldn’t have taken the ball out of the end zone.

“Yeah, you can kind of say that [we had that conversation],” Smith said. “But it was like I seen he wanted it so I was like, ‘Let’s roll.’”

It must have been a very busy start to the week for Smith following the injury to Waddle. That very Monday after the injury, Smith went to the Mal Moore Athletic Facility to visit the offices of offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins.

The topic of conversation? How Smith could step up in Waddles’ absence.

“After it happened I came into the building [on] Monday, I went to coach Sark and coach Wiggins, kinda had a talk with them about what we was going on,” Smith said. “And that was just me just wanting to be able to just step up and do more and things just happened the way it happened. That was just me being a competitor like ‘We’re down a man, I do whatever I have to do for this team to keep it going in the right direction.’”

Since those Monday meetings, Smith has certainly stepped up into this Crimson Tide offense. In the five games since Tennessee, Smith has recorded two 200-plus yard receiving games, two 100-plus yard receiving games and has brought in 11 touchdown receptions.

The game immediately following Tennessee against Mississippi State? 11 receptions, 203 yards and four touchdowns. Despite defenses being allowed to focus their attention on him, Smith has still been able to produce for the Crimson Tide at an exceedingly high caliber.

Entering December, talks began to escalate that Smith should be considered as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. As awards season has begun and semifinalists have begun to be announced, Smith is now a final candidate for both the Maxwell Award and the Biletnikoff Award, both two of the highest honors a wide receiver can earn.

On top of earning respect from football fans and media everywhere, Smith has also earned the respect of his teammates for how he has stepped up in Waddle’s absence.

Junior defensive back Patrick Surtain II also commented on Smith’s rise to the occasion during his time with the media on Monday.

“When Jaylen went down, his role got even bigger,” Surtain said. “He’s gonna have to make the big plays and he had to be the man on offense. But he’s built for moments like that, and he’s showing it right now. He’s worked for it.”

This past weekend at Arkansas, it seems that Smith’s story of stepping up into Waddle’s place came full circle. Late in the first quarter, Smith recorded the first touchdown of the game by returning a punt 84 yards for the Crimson Tide’s first special teams touchdown of the season.

And when he talked to Waddle about the punt return that swung the momentum of the game into the Crimson Tide’s favor?

“He was just like, ‘That’s dirty,’” Smith said through a wide grin. “I ain’t gonna bring up the conversation, but he was just like, ‘That’s dirty.’”