Josh Smith took the Attica Red Ramblers to new heights in the early 2000s. Last month, his career was recognized at a banquet at Purdue University.
WEST LAFAYETTE − Josh Smith waited for a Purdue football scholarship offer that never came.
Turns out, it was one of the best things that ever happened to the former football star, who helped tiny Attica become a program that was recognized throughout Indiana 25 years ago.
"I'm, a firm believer in everything happens for a reason," Smith said. "I thought I was going to be at Purdue. (Former defensive coordinator) Brock Spack, (former Purdue head coach) Joe Tiller, I knew those guys. I was at all the spring games and every game during my senior year. Unfortunately the cards didn't fall right and I didn't get offered a scholarship."
It wasn't for a lack of accolades.
Smith's statistics in high school were legendary, putting the Red Ramblers on the map. Attica was the Class A state runner-up in 2000, with Smith's 3,004 yards and 449 points scored that season doing much of the heavy lifting.
"We all knew at a young age. A lot of the community knew when he was in sixth grade," said Smith's older brother Jeremy. "He was so dominant already. He was so strong compared to his classmates.
"There were a lot of people looking forward to he and his classmates getting older because they had so many good athletes in that class. It wasn't a surprise. Not the statistics. Not the records. It was kind of what everybody thought was going to happen at a really young age."
And a lot of people thought Purdue would come calling to keep Attica's sports hero home.
Instead, it was Navy which persuaded Smith with an opportunity to further his education while continuing to play football.
It turned into a career, which included residing in Washington, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Maryland and now Virginia Beach.
Before that, Smith showed his football talents translated from high school to college.
Smith led the Midshipmen in tackles for three straight seasons and became a team captain. In 2009, Smith was named to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial All-Stadium team as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the stadium.
Electing to continue serving in the United States Naval Academy, Smith's pilot duties included flying intelligence surveillance reconnaissance missions in the middle East post 9/11. From there, he was selected to serve in an elite unit out of Washington D.C.
Three kids later, and after six years mostly behind a desk, Smith's 20-year naval career is nearing retirement. He'll soon transition into a new career as a pilot for Delta Airlines.
But first, a bow on his football career.
Fittingly, it came at Purdue last month during the National Football Foundation Joe Tiller Chapter's annual honors reception.
Smith was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. His brother Jeremy performed the induction speech.
While Josh Smith's post high school career, which also included helping Attica win the 2001 Class A state basketball championship, took him to nearly every continent, being in West Lafayette in full navy uniform allowed him to reflect on high school glory.
"I couldn't have done anything by myself. We all had a role on the team," he said. "Everyone went out, and there wasn't a lot of us out there, we only had a low 20 numbers, but we all went out there as hard as we could. In football, we had nine guys going both ways. It didn't matter. You were going as hard as you could.
"My whole thing was I want to go out and play to the best of my ability and help my team win games. Everything that has come since then, all the accolades, are just icing on the cake."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Former Attica star inducted into Indiana Football Hall of Fame
Category: General Sports
