When Smith’s Turn Finally Comes, He Turns It On : Montclair Prep Star Leads State in Rushing, Scoring

VAN NUYS — The 5-year-old eyeballed the familiar picture prominently displayed on his grandmother’s coffee table.

Pictured was Wilbert Smith in his football uniform and a newspaper clipping declaring his status as a 1969 high school All-American running back in Louisiana.

The young boy knew the man and--although he hadn’t seen him much lately--admired him immensely. And in an instant, the youngster knew what he wanted to be.

“I’m going to be better than my daddy,” the child said.

The proclamation prompted a laugh from his grandmother, who responded good-naturedly, “I don’t think so, son.”

Perhaps in that instant, the crusade of Wilbert Smith Jr. was born.

Since that exchange, he has been standing in line, waiting patiently to show disbelievers and naysayers what he could do.

Twelve years ago he tried to tell his grandmother that he was going to be a better football player than his father. But she wouldn’t believe the youngster because her son was the best she had seen play the game.

And the theme continued. Two years ago, Smith politely told Montclair Prep coaches that he should be running the ball out of the backfield. Their response was simply, take a number, we’ve got Eliel Swinton.

Smith is 17 now and a senior at Montclair Prep. Swinton is playing football at Stanford. Wilbert Smith Sr., who played two seasons at Arizona, is working with paint and drywall and busy raising a family. And all those who once thought Junior was second-best have changed their minds.

“(He’s) the best ever with the ball,” said John Hazelton, assistant coach at Montclair Prep. “There’s nothing like it.”

No other player in the state has matched Smith’s numbers this season. He is the state’s leading rusher and scorer. In six games, Smith has amassed 1,506 yards rushing in 131 carries. One hundred yards better than anyone in the state. He has scored 25 touchdowns, including six on kickoff and punt returns, and a two-point conversion for 152 points.

Last week, Smith carved out a place in Southern Section annals, equaling the second-best scoring performance in history. He scored seven touchdowns in three quarters against Mar Vista of San Diego and was named Cal-Hi Sports state athlete of the week.

Although the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Smith is constantly trying to improve himself and his game, he does so quietly and virtually without an ego. Smith shows by example, not with his mouth.

“Wilbert is mostly a doer,” Smith’s father said. “He doesn’t talk about what he has to do, he just does it. Everything he does is like that.

“The day after he made those seven touchdowns, he got up (the next morning) and cut the grass,” said the elder Smith, who told his son Thursday that he wanted him to mow the lawn over the weekend. “I heard the lawn mower going about 8 o’clock (Saturday morning).”

Smith is so quiet and modest, one might assume he lacks confidence. But, that is not the case. He simply doesn’t think it proper to tell others what he thinks of his abilities.

“I guess I wasn’t raised that way,” he said.

Smith was born and raised in New Orleans. At age 9, he left his mother to visit his father in California. Since his parents divorced, Smith had spent relatively little time with his father, who relocated and remarried in the late 1970s.

After the visit with his father, he decided he wanted to live in California. “When he went back (to New Orleans), he called me to come and get him,” Smith’s father said.

Smith has lived with his father ever since but visits his mother frequently and talks to her by phone once a week.

Once Smith sets a goal, he is determined to attain it. That’s one reason Smith is at Montclair Prep.

As a ninth-grader in junior high, Smith was playing Pop Warner football with the East Valley Trojans. One day he picked up a newspaper and saw a picture of Swinton in action. Beside the picture was an article detailing the game highlights of Swinton, who was in his sophomore year at Montclair Prep. Interestingly, the pictures of Swinton and Smith’s father had a similar effect on him. The effect was pure motivation.

“I knew then I wanted to go there,” Smith said. “I wanted to get out of junior high and go see what high school was like. Montclair started in the ninth grade and I was in the ninth grade.”

And just like that, Smith was registered at Montclair Prep, according to his father.

After a season on the junior varsity, Smith earned a spot as a starting cornerback on the varsity his sophomore year. But Smith wanted to run the ball--like his father had.

Unfortunately for Smith, he was a grade behind Swinton, and seniority rules with Montclair Prep running backs.

“Eliel Swinton had been playing tailback since his sophomore year,” Coach George Giannini said. “With it being his senior year, I can’t take (his position) away from him. Like now, if I had a junior that might be better than Wilbert, he wouldn’t play because (Smith) is a senior and he has earned that position.”

It took Smith a year to swallow that bitter pill. In the meantime, Swinton was on his way to becoming the section’s No. 3 all-time rusher with 5,904 yards.

“When I was in the 10th grade, I used to be angry because they wouldn’t give me a chance to show them what I had,” Smith said. “But last year they gave me a spot and let me display my skills.”

Smith started at fullback and cornerback last season. His 1,251 yards rushing were a supplement to Swinton’s 2,384. They made up the finest backfield combination in the region.

Smith took a back seat to Swinton for two seasons. And while many Montclair Prep fans have said Smith is the better back, Smith has only praise for his friend, who has been moved to defensive back by Stanford.

“We have different styles,” Smith said. “I’m a kind of up-the-field type guy, not a power runner. Eliel was an outside guy. He had more speed than I have.”

Smith’s remarkable ability to make defenders miss has made him a hit with recruiters from several Pacific 10 Conference schools, Colorado, Illinois and Purdue. Smith slices when he runs and frequently slips through seams sideways.

“He swivels his hips and breaks tackles,” Giannini said. “I don’t know he does it.”

In a combine of 600 players last summer, Smith’s time of 4.38 ranked among the top 10 in the shuttle run, which tests agility and change of direction. Smith also runs 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.

As for those slicing moves, dad wants to take some of the credit.

“When I first saw him run, I said, ‘You can’t run. You’ve got to have some kind of moves.’ ”

Now, the elder Smith thinks his son is the best runner in the region.

“Not because he’s my kid, but, I’ve been around football all my life and I’ve seen a lot of players,” he said. “He won’t run out of bounds. You have to knock him out of bounds.”

But has his son surpassed his father’s feats and abilities and become “better” as he once proclaimed 12 years ago? Dad thinks he has, but he said he would never tell his son as much.

“There’s always room for improvement,” the elder Smith said. “I tell him, ‘You looked pretty good, but you still have to get busy.’ ”