GoPowercat.com - GoPowercat Q&A: Brodrick Smith

August 8, 2009

Robert Cassidy
GoPowercat.com Staff Writer

His mind was made up moths before it took place, but after being granted a release from his scholarship agreement with the University of Minnesota in May, it didn't take long for Brodrick Smith to make his intentions public. The Kansas-born wide receiver would move closer to his Garden City home and play under head coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State. Now, after a few scholarship-related bumps in the road to Manhattan, the wide receiver has arrived on campus ready to help rebuild the program he grew up watching.

I know the process of getting enrolled at K-State was a bit rocky for you. Take me through how it happened.
I got released (from Minnesota) in late May. When I came up here the first time, they told me they didn't have a scholarship because they had lost some. As soon as I got released, I came up that weekend and found out. They told me what I had to do. I have to walk on for the first semester.

Did they elaborate on why they lost scholarships?
No, I don't really know why.

Did being asked to walk on bother you at all, even at first?
No, I told them that I didn't mind doing it. I was going to do what it took to go back home and play under Bill Snyder. I knew I had to make new sacrifices to start off fresh.

What kind of new sacrifices?
You know, I had to do it to be there for my son. This gives me a chance to better myself. Now, I get an extra year in school so I can work toward my masters one day. It will give me something to rely on when football is over.

Any specific ideas for what that masters is going to be?
I don't really know yet, probably education or kinesiology. I haven't decided yet.

Did you know or have a relationship with Bill Snyder before you decided to come to K-State?
No, I didn't know him. I had met him a couple of times when I used to come and camp up here, but I didn't know him. I knew (K-State assistant) coach (Michael Smith) real well, though. He recruited me out of high school to go to Arizona. So coming back here, I already knew him.

Was Coach Smith the first coach you called when you left Minnesota?
Yeah, he was the first person I talked to after I got released. He just told me that they would love to have me at K-State. He talked to Coach Snyder about it and called me five minutes later saying I could come on up.

What's the biggest difference between the program at K-State and the one you left at Minnesota?
Not much. They're both programs trying to get back on top. Minnesota came off a 1-11 season or whatever. Then, K-State has Coach Snyder coming back. I really don't know if there is a difference. I know both programs are working hard. Talking to some of the guys, I know summer and winter workouts were pretty tough here. At Minnesota, we had just got a new offensive coordinator or whatever, so they weren't really stressing conditioning and stuff like that.

It sounds like things are going to be harder for you physically around here.
Yeah, I kind of like it. Even with all the running and stuff, guys on the team are all positive. They've made up their minds that they want to get better. Everybody really wants to change this program.

You had a relationship with Chris Harper before you guys transferred to K-State. Was it just through football? How did you guys meet?
We actually met sophomore year of high school. He was at Wichita Northwest and I was at Garden City. We've been playing against each other since then.

You were released from your previous schools at almost exactly the same time. I know both of you have tried to play this down in the past, but did the two of you have this all planned out? Be honest because I've already talked to Chris.
We talked about it for a while. All through football season last year, we talked at least once a week. We first mentioned coming to K-State during second semester. He called me talking about K-State and how that would be a good choice for him and me. After that, we really started talking about it a lot.

When you say you "really started talking about it," how did those conversations go?
Once it was all over, we just talked about how it's going to be good being on the same team together after playing against each other for so long. We figured, being two of the three top players in Kansas, it would probably be good for us to come back to Kansas and show the fans that we're ready to change things and to help turn this program around. Also, we want to show another great coach like coach Snyder that there are Kansas kids out there that still care and that want to help his program.

Bill talks a lot about how important it is to keep Kansas guys like you in the state. Why do you think that's important? A good player is a good player, no?
Well, it's because us Kansas players have more pride in this thing. They want pride for themselves and the state they are playing for. We really want to make this school look good.

You've always said the school's proximity to your hometown and your son was a big reason for your transfer. How excited are you to get him in the stands for a game?
It's big. It's real big. Growing up, I didn't have a father. So even as a young kid, I always wanted to become the best father I could be. I just want to give my son something I never had. That was the biggest reason for me coming back here.

How do you plan to stay motivated this year knowing you won't get the chance to play all season?
The motivation for me is that when you transfer, a lot of people think you're going to mess up. For me, that's what keeps me going. It's all the motivation I need. All throughout high school, I had people telling me I wouldn't make it and stuff like that. That was motivation right there. Being on the scout team this year, I'm just going to work to prove people wrong.

People said you wouldn't make it? You were a pretty highly recruited kid, no? What did they base that on?
I don't really know at all. I really don't know. I don't know. They just thought I wouldn't make it. It was mostly in my hometown. I don't really know about anywhere else, but people in my hometown said I wouldn't make it. That helped set a goal for me to work hard for every day.

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