A shot at the dream

Wide receiver Marcus Smith produced one of the most stellar senior seasons in UNM football history.

He broke records. He played in the Senior Bowl. He was invited to the 2008 NFL combine and is a likely pick for this weekend's NFL draft.

But through it all, the most important part of his success was missing.

On Sept. 16 at the dawn of Smith's senior year, his mother, Sheila Smith, died of a brain aneurism at age 52.

"It was hard, and it's still hard not to be able to talk to her - to be able to call her and talk to her about all the good things going on," Smith said. "I definitely miss it. She was my motivation - my reason to play football in the first place. She was the whole point of me succeeding."

Now, as he considers a bright future in football, Smith still struggles to get through the darkest time in his life.

The beginning of success

Smith grew up in San Diego, Calif., in a neighborhood full of gangs. As a child, he said he witnessed murders and heard of neighbors' parents dying in drive-by shootings in their front yards.

Bombarded by distractions and opportunities to fall into the illegal way of life surrounding him, Smith declined for his mother's sake. He saw her pain when her oldest son, Smith's only brother, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting months after her mother died of cancer. Then her brother, Ronald Lewis, was shot and killed.

"After seeing what my mom went through with my brother, there's no way I could put her through more pain," he said. "I wouldn't put that burden on her."

He turned to sports, instead.

Smith played football for the first time his freshman year at Morse High School in San Diego.

He played for fun, and it wasn't until his sophomore year when he started getting recruiting letters from around the country that he thought of a future in the game.

"I wasn't even thinking about my future being in sports," Smith said. "Coming from my neighborhood and seeing the stuff around me, not many guys got scholarships. All I wanted was to get out of the situation I was in."

Smith's first time out of San Diego was on his recruiting trips to schools like Arizona and Colorado State. After visiting Albuquerque, Smith accepted a full-ride scholarship from UNM.

Life as a Lobo

Recruited as a running back, the 185-pound Smith was soon switched to receiver. Learning a new position and a new system took time. Smith hardly played his first two years as a Lobo and said the most important part of those years was his maturation.

Head football coach Rocky Long said Smith made the transition most young players have to.

"When we made the position switch, he was apprehensive," Long said. "It takes time for players to get used to the college football setting. But things change when players see the big picture."

Smith said after he saw former teammates like Hank Baskett and Ryan Cook go to the NFL, becoming a professional football player became his dream. Everything he did from then on was directed toward that goal.

After gaining almost 30 pounds, Smith became a presence at the wide receiver slot. He caught for 859 yards his junior year and was an honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference selection. Before his senior season, his teammates voted him offensive captain.

"He always worked really hard and was definitely a good leader," said Danny Martin, a junior on the UNM football team. "He didn't try to act tough because he was a captain like some guys do, and people respected that."

Following his mother's death, Smith constructed a standout senior year. He led the MWC in catches and receiving yards throughout the season and set the school record with 91 receptions for 1,125 yards. He was a first team all-MWC selection and played in the Senior Bowl, an event where the best seniors in the NCAA are invited to play.

Smith graduated in December 2007 with a criminology degree.

"My experience at UNM was a blast," Smith said. "I got to break a couple of records. I got to leave a legacy. With the things I've learned at UNM, I'm well-prepared for everything."

The next step

Less than two weeks after leading the Lobo football team to a New Mexico Bowl victory in December, Smith began an extensive 10-week training program at the Athlete Performance Institute in Florida.

He described the experience as boot camp in paradise, as the players worked out twice a day, five days a week and once on Saturdays.

The only break they got was to compete in their all-star games and at the combine where players undergo a series of interviews, physical tests and drills with more than 600 NFL personnel watching. It was Smith's chance to raise his stock for the two-day draft at the end of April.

"Based on what my agent says, I'm feeling pretty good about my draft chances," Smith said. "I know I'll end up somewhere. After I get there, I'll do whatever they want me to do. If I get into the NFL, I'll have time to blossom."

Long said Smith has the tools to make it in the NFL.

"I think, athletically, he will get the chance to be drafted and play professional football," he said. "The league will give him an opportunity, and he will have to perform at a high level. I think he can, and I think he will."

To succeed as an NFL player, Smith set his goal to learn more about his position, learn his role on his team and do well at camp. He said his mental approach is just as important.

"I'll learn and go with the flow," he said. "It's not always going to be good. It's not always going to be bad. My goal is to stay even-keeled and stay as consistent as possible. If I do that, I feel like I can play for a very long time."

Living, playing for mom

Through Smith's success, recognition and opportunities, he said there's been an emptiness lingering.

"Before she died, my absolute priority was getting my mom anything she wanted - a car, a house, anything," Smith said. "But now, I don't know what to spend the money on."

At the Senior Bowl, Smith had an uncle and some close friends in the stands, but he couldn't shake the fact that his mother wasn't there.

"The Senior Bowl was fun, but my mom wasn't there," he said. "I had support, but it wasn't her. It was so hard. The hardest part is going through all of this stuff without her."

Even before his mother died, Smith said he would look to the sky after every touchdown and think, "This one's for you, mom."

Now, he said he looks to the sky for his guardian angel.

"I feel she's still with me," Smith said. "When I feel lazy and sit around for five minutes, I start thinking about her and know she's whispering in my ear to go work."

Smith said that when his mother was alive, he did everything he did for her so that she would be happy. And in her death, he plans to do the same.

"You don't choose who goes and when they go," he said. "All you can do is keep doing what they wanted you to do.

"And now, mom can watch me on Sundays from the best seat in the house."