Republic senior Jake Smith earned a reputation as a football player who would do anything to help his team win. Now he’ll take that reputation and attitude with him to Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Smith has signed a letter of intent to play football at Benedictine under longtime head coach Larry Wilcox.
Republic coach Wes Beachler says his best memory of Smith’s time as a Tiger came early during his junior season in 2013.
” was starting quarterback and we had to move him to defense and start somebody else at quarterback,” Beachler says. “I talked to him after practice and I remember his exact words like it was yesterday. He said, ‘Coach, I don’t care. I just want to win.’
“That’s the kind of young man you want to have on your team, who aren’t necessarily glory seekers, but just want to win football games. very proud of him, and anxious to get to go see him play in college if he gets back down this way.”
Smith’s versatility at quarterback helped the Tigers put together one of their best offensive seasons ever, in Beachler’s second year. He compiled more than 500 yards rushing and more than 500 yards passing. He also scored eighteen touchdowns.
His father, assistant coach Todd Smith, says seeing Jake move on to play at college is bittersweet, “not just because he’s my son, but because of some of the senior teammates that I got to watch grow up as well. I think some of the best memories that I have of his upbringing and his young life is just spending time with his buddies.”
One of the attractions of Benedictine for Jake Smith was the presence of freshman and JV squads, which will give him an opportunity to earn more playing time as he transitions to the next level.
“I think that would help a lot, to not get thrown into the high speed of college football right away as a freshman. There would be a lot of guys out there who are 22, 23 years old, and coming in as an 18-year-old would be kind of different. That would help a lot to get my feet wet in the system,” Smith says.
“As soon as I stepped on campus , I just felt like it was right. The facilities they have there are top notch. It had the feel of a big campus, but at the same time, it was a close-knit community, like the small college that it is,” he says.
Smith says he can’t pick a favorite memory from his playing days at Republic, because every game was a special opportunity.
“I got to go out and play the game that I love with my best friends,” Smith says. “Obviously, after the passing of one of my best friends, Garrett … he was a big part of this team… from that point on, I think we came together. We became a tight-knit brotherhood after he passed away, and we played every game in memory of him, and I think that really helped us out a lot.”
Smith looks back on the summer before his senior year as a turning point in his development as a football player.
“I pushed myself as hard as I could every day this summer, and I can take that to my grave if I want, because I know for a fact that I’ve done the best that I could every single day,” Smith says. “I think it showed out on the field this year. I think I had a pretty good year, and I thought we had a great year as a team, and I was proud to be the quarterback of this team this year.”
And although Smith is moving on to play football in college, he says he’ll miss his Fridays in Republic.
“I don’t think there’s anything that compares to running out Friday nights. You’ve got the whole town of Republic up there, pretty much, in the stands watching you play. It’s going to be fun on Saturdays playing college football, but there’s nothing that compares to Friday night lights.”
