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Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne knows why DeVonta Smith is “elite.”
It’s not the former Alabama and current Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver’s stats. It’s not Smith’s accolades – the Heisman Trophy, a College Football Playoff national championship, a Super Bowl championship.
All of that, Byrne said, is the product of who Smith is as an athlete. All of that can be boiled down to one story Byrne remembers.
Incredible!
Many reasons why DeVonta is elite. In 2020 when he won the Heisman it was awarded on campus because of Covid. There was just a handful of us in the media room during the Heisman presentation.
The NEXT morning, at 6 am there were 3 of us in the weight room on an… https://t.co/XpHJAsvYFk
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) February 11, 2025
Quoting a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, declaring Smith as the only player in SEC history to win a Heisman, the CFP national title and a Super Bowl, Byrne shared that he was one of a handful of people allowed to be with Smith as he celebrated his Heisman Trophy due to COVID-19.
“The NEXT morning, at 6 am there were (three) of us in the weight room on an off morning for the team,” Byrne wrote. “Me (I was doing my old man workout), Najee Harris, and the newly minted Heisman winner….DeVonta Smith. I love that story.”
In four seasons at Alabama, Smith had 3,965 receiving yards and 46 touchdowns on 235 catches. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020.
In Smith’s 2020 Heisman campaign, he led the college football with 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns. He was also the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp recipient and an All-American.
With the Eagles, Smith has 4,011 yards and 27 touchdowns in 63 career games.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-ad-greg-byrne-shares-143014394.html
Author : The Tuscaloosa News
Publish date : 2025-02-11 14:30:00
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