Long snapper Clarke Smith graduates in August with a mechanical engineering degree from Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and a minor in sport coaching.
The fifth-year senior enters the 2020 football season savoring the accomplishments and the memories of the past four years.
"Being able to look over and see my mom watch me play in Jordan-Hare will be what I miss the most," he said.
At Leeds High School near Birmingham, Alabama, Smith was quite the active athlete, participating in basketball, baseball, golf, track and field, and making three trips to the finals while winning back-to-back state championships in football.
"I did a lot of sports in high school, but football was surely a blessing in disguise," Smith said. "I started as a freshman and was able to start 58 total career games and won 50 of them."
Smith says his mother, Anita, served as the inspiration for his hard work.
"She gets 100% credit for who I am," he said. "My mom coached me for three years in basketball; it can be kind of weird getting chewed out by your mom on the basketball court."
Smith's mother knew the recipe for hard work, as it was passed down from her parents.
"My grandparents are ones that didn't spend a dime they didn't have," he said. "They spent six years with the plastic weather guard around their house because they couldn't afford the bricks yet, but they were saving up for it.
"My mom reinforced to me that I wasn't going to get to play unless I practiced my free throws and worked on my boxing out. If you are not willing to get better, then you are not going to get anything out of it."
Smith channeled that attitude toward athletics and his achievements in football led to him being offered several scholarships and walk-on offers, but he had a hard time deciding which one to choose.
"Coming from a family full of athletes, mainly basketball players, it was expected to go to college on a scholarship," he said. "After my mom told me to write down all the pros and cons from all the schools' offers, it seemed like the University of Central Arkansas was the best bet on paper, but something inside of me wasn't on board."
Smith realized that if he didn't try to play with the best, he would always wonder.
"I heard the stories of people saying that they played a lot but never played at the highest level," he said. "I had to ask myself if I would rather play at a smaller school with hopes to excel or try something at the highest level possible, even if I fell flat on my face."
Knowing that he would be turning down full-ride scholarships, Smith chose to play at the school that would challenge him the most.
"I knew that if I was going to try something, then I wanted to try at the most elite level, facing the hardest competition I could possibly face," Smith said. "If I did my absolute best, I knew that was something I could live with.
"Out of all the schools, Auburn felt like the best opportunity, based on how much you are willing to put in."
Moving from Mississippi, where his family is from, to grow up in Leeds, Smith learned that for most people in the state, you are either an Auburn fan or you are not. Having played in both Bryant-Denny and Jordan-Hare Stadiums for the high school championships, Smith had a fonder feeling toward the grass on Pat Dye Field.
"I actually preferred Jordan-Hare because I was 1-0 here and was 1-1 in the other stadium," he said.
"My junior year for the championship, we got to come to Auburn and my first reaction was, 'This is beautiful,'" he said. "At the time I was being recruited by Auburn and I told my coach that this is a place I can see myself playing. I told myself that this could feel like home."
His four years at Auburn have felt like home for Smith. He enjoys the challenges Auburn has given him from day one.
"My first assignment when I got to fall camp freshman year was going against Carl Lawson at tackle, and I was like, 'Uh… but I am a long snapper,'" he laughed. "But they said they needed someone to line up and that's when I reminded myself that I wanted this."
Football was not the only reason Smith chose Auburn. He wanted to challenge himself in the classroom just as much as he wanted to be on the field.
"No other school has an amazing engineering school like Auburn, so plan A was certainly football, but plan B was academics and no other school came close," he said.
Smith has met every challenge and kept a positive outlook toward achieving his goals. He does not let walls keep him from climbing. "It doesn't matter the hand you are dealt; it is how you play the cards, and some of the cards I have been dealt, I have played pretty well," he said.
"Being here has taught me that adversity is going to always be a constant in life, and you have two options: you can fold or you can push back. The more you push, there is a chance you can overcome it, but the moment you fold, it is going to overtake you."
Like an umpire in baseball or a football referee, Smith's position usually comes with anonymity.
"First off, I am a long snapper, so if I ever hear my name in the media, then I have done something I shouldn't have, and rarely is it for a good thing," he joked.
"We don't get caught up in the fame of each player, and the Auburn Family reminds us of that. They are just happy you are an Auburn player; in the Tiger Walk, they slap every player's hand -- not just the stars but every single player.
"When you run out of that tunnel, they are cheering for every single player, not just one guy. They are cheering for the Auburn Tigers. It is genuine love all the way around."
The Auburn Family is what convinced Smith to call Auburn home right from the start of his freshman season.
"In fall camp, they play what the crowd sounds like on the speakers, and someone said it was close to a jet engine," he said. "I never understood that until I ran out of the tunnel and I realized this is what it like to play at Auburn. I know I made the right decision.
His final season lies ahead, and although it may be different because of the pandemic, Smith has no intentions of rushing his way through it. Instead, he wants to cherish the moments and believes that from the top down, Auburn has prepared him to thrive through tough and complex situations in the classroom and on the football field.
"It is a unique opportunity here because it has opened so many doors," he said. "I may not have a set plan for what I am going to do when I leave Auburn, but I know I am not going to rush through my final year. I want to cherish the moments: each class, each practice, each game. I want to enjoy these next steps on this journey."
Jonanthan Housand is a student worker in Auburn Athletics media relations