Former Eagle Ready for NFL Draft

Not since 1964 has a graduate of Abilene High School heard his name called during the National Football League Draft.

That was the year former Eagle and Texas Tech All-American wide receiver Dave Parks was the No. 1 overall selection by the San Francisco 49ers. Since then, only two Eagles – wide receiver Wayne Coffey (New England in 1987) and defensive back Ahmad Brooks (Buffalo in 2002) – have played in the NFL, each spending one regular season with those respective teams.

That drought could come to an end this year, however, as former Eagle running back Abram Smith is expected to be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, most likely late on Day 2 or sometime on Day 3. The first round of the draft will be April 28 with the second and third rounds scheduled for April 29. The final four rounds (4-7) will take place Saturday, April 30. The draft will originate from Las Vegas, Nev., and will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network.

“I’ll be locked in the whole way through because I’m focused on the goal of making it to the NFL,” said Smith, who will host a draft party at Potosi Live. “But Friday and Saturday will be a little more intense just because I’ll be waiting for my phone to ring.”

An All-Big 12 second team selection in his only season as Baylor’s starting running back, Smith set the program’s single-season rushing record (1,621 yards), set the program record for 100-yard rushing games in a single season (nine) and led the Bears to Big 12 and Allstate Sugar Bowl championships. The Bears wrapped up their 2021 season with a 12-2 record, one of the best seasons in program history. And most of it came on the back of a player who bounced from running back to special teams to linebacker and, finally, back to running back during his career at Baylor..

Smith, who averaged 151.4 yards rushing per game in his AHS career, finished as the leading rusher in school history with 4,995 yards in just 33 games, as his sophomore season in 2014 was cut short by an ACL tear. He was called up to the varsity for the Eagles’ final two games of the 2013 season and the freshman scored five touchdowns in his first game, including TDs on the first two times he touched the ball, in a 42-21 win over Odessa High at Shotwell Stadium.

“I was a 15-year-old freshman playing against 18-year-old seniors,” Smith said. “It was nerve-wracking for sure because some of those dudes had been on the varsity for two or three seasons and I had just left Mann Middle School. But having (former AHS running backs coach) Ryan Lewis and our other coaches and my circle of friends around me made it easier.”

Smith committed to the University of Tulsa in May 2016 before de-committing from the Golden Hurricane in December 2016. The next month he committed to Baylor and signed with the Bears on Feb. 1, 2017. His career with the Bears hit an immediate obstacle when he tore his ACL in summer camp and red-shirted as a freshman. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in six games, mostly on special teams. In his collegiate debut against Abilene Christian University at McLane Stadium, Smith ran for 11 yards on four carries on Sept. 1, 2018.

The next year he appeared in all 14 Baylor games, again mostly on special teams. He scored his first collegiate touchdown in an Aug. 31 win over Stephen F. Austin, but also totaled seven tackles on the season, including a pair in the Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma.

He moved full time to linebacker prior to the 2020 season, starting four games late in the season, averaging 11.5 tackles and 1.3 tackles for loss in those starts. He finished the season with 48 total tackles, including a career-high 13 in a December game against Oklahoma State.

That 2020 season was the first under head coach Dave Aranda, and the Bears were 2-7 in a COVID-shortened season that featured an offense that scored 23 points or less in six of those losses. Aranda made a change, bringing offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes in from BYU and going to the linebacker room to find his new running back.

“I was asked to try out at running back last spring – not necessarily move, but try out,” Smith said. “Coach Grimes went into a staff meeting and asked if we had anybody on the defensive side of the ball who could run the ball for him. My name got put into a hat and I got three practices to show him what I could do and the next thing you know my green defensive jersey turned into a white offensive jersey.”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

As Smith began piling up yards and touchdowns, the Bears kept piling up wins. Wins over BYU and Texas were followed by a disappointing road loss at TCU, setting up a big game against Oklahoma on Nov. 13 in Waco. Smith and Bears punished the Sooners on both sides of the ball, limiting OU’s high-powered offense to just 260 yards of offense while posting 414 of their own with 297 of that coming on the ground.

Smith was the workhorse, and while he didn’t score in the game, he ground out 148 yards in 20 bruising carries, and his 75-yard run to the OU 8-yard line early in the fourth quarter set up a touchdown from quarterback Gerry Bohanon that gave the Bears a 17-7 lead. That was the first of five straight season-ending wins for the Bears, including a heart-stopping 21-16 win over No. 7 Oklahoma State in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game that was won when the Baylor defense stopped OSU four times from the Baylor 2-yard line inside the final three minutes of the game.

Smith carried 17 times for 63 yards against the stingy Oklahoma State defense, but the Bears made an early 21-3 lead to stand up to clinch the program’s third Big 12 championship, earning a spot in the Sugar Bowl in the process. Baylor and Ole Miss were tied 7-7 going to the fourth quarter when the Bears – who churned out 279 yards on the ground against the Rebels’ defense – took over.

Smith ran for 66 of his game-high 172 yards in the second half (he had a 49-yard run in the first half) and the Bears scored twice in the fourth quarter to seal the program’s first Sugar Bowl win. Smith also picked up a big first down on a six-yard reception that set up Bohanon’s’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Tyquan Thornton that gave Baylor a two-touchdown lead with 7:24 left in the game.

The win for the Bears avenged a 26-14 loss to Georgia in the 2020 Sugar Bowl and was the program’s first Sugar Bowl victory since its only other appearance: a 13-7 win over Tennessee in 1957.

And with Smith’s superb senior season behind him, his focus turned to the NFL Combine and the Senior Bowl in hopes of going from draft sleeper to a running back with a legitimate chance to make an NFL roster in 2022.

“Everything I went through at Baylor happened for a reason,” he said. “I think it showed my versatility; showing that I can play both sides of the ball as well as special teams. I’ve got three areas of my game that teams have film on. I took more than 400 special teams snaps in my career; I started at linebacker; and then did what I did at running back last season.

“When I’ve been in interviews at the Combine or at the Senior Bowl or on Zoom, teams have told me that the special teams aspect of my game is a big help in terms of evaluating and separating players from one another,” Smith said. “A lot of running backs going into the draft don’t have experience on special teams, and that’s where I have an edge. I can join a team and have an impact on special teams and be ready to step in at running back if, God forbid, there’s an injury that opens a spot.”

And with other running backs garnering more attention heading into the draft, Smith knows he will once again have to prove himself, which is just the way he likes it.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m a little bit overlooked,” he said. “But at the same time, I’ve only been at the running back position for a short amount of time. I can easily say I’m a sleeper in the draft, and I think I am. At the same time, I had one year at linebacker and one year at running back, so I can see why people would overlook me. But I believe I’m capable of making an impact on any team. I don’t want to be overlooked, but it’s humbling to know where I stand, and I look forward to proving people wrong.”

Smith said he believes the offensive style of the Tennessee Titans or New Orleans Saints best fit his running style, a one-cut, downhill, physical runner. He’s just anxious to fulfill a lifelong dream and hear his name called during the draft.

“I’ve thought about that moment countless times,” Smith said. “It’s a life-changing phone call. They always show those guys crying on TV, but I’m going to try and keep a straight face. But I know this: my mom will be crying, and I know when I look over at her, that’ll make me cry, too.”

Abilene ISD Players in the National Football League

Stub Blackman, Abilene High (Univ. of. Tulsa), fullback, Chicago Bears, 1930
Maury Bray, Abilene High l (SMU)), offensive tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1935-36
^($)John Kimbrough, Abilene High (Texas A&M), fullback, Los Angeles Dons, 1946-48
Dick Stovall, Abilene High (Abilene Christian University), linebacker / offensive line, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, 1947-49
Harold Stephens, Abilene High (Hardin-Simmons University),* New York Titans, 1962
Glynn Gregory, Abilene High (SMU), wide receiver / defensive back, Dallas Cowboys, 1961-62
Jim Welch, Abilene High (SMU), defensive back, Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions, 1960-68
Chuck Hughes, Abilene High (Texas-El Paso), wide receiver, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, 1967-73
# Dave Parks, Abilene High (Texas Tech), wide receiver, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Houston Oilers, 1964-73
Jack Mildren, Cooper High (Oklahoma), defensive back, Baltimore Colts, New. England Patriots, 1972-74
Terry Orr, Cooper High (Univ. of Texas), tight end, Washington Redkins, San Diego Chargers, 1986-93
Ray Berry, Cooper High (Baylor), linebacker, Minnesota Vikings / Seattle Seahawks, 1987-93
Wayne Coffey, Abilene High (Texas State), wide receiver, New England Patriots, 1987
Justin Snow, Cooper High (Baylor), deep snapper, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, 2000-12
Dominic Rhodes, Cooper High (Midwestern State University), running back, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders, 2001-10
Ahmad Brooks, Abilene High (Univ. of Texas), defensive back, Buffalo Bills, 2002