HUNTINGTOWN, Md. — Local football standout Anthony Smith of Huntingtown, Maryland, trained for years for a chance to showcase his talents at a professional rookie minicamp. That dream came true as his impressive 40-yard dash of 4.43 seconds turned heads on the National Football League’s Pro Day, which was held two months ago.
Smith said via social media that he had grown up watching the football greats that he now gets to learn from. Having only traveled to Dallas twice in his life, he will soon be able to call it home.
“I’m going to work with the best so I can be the best,” Smith stated in a recent interview. After a warm welcome from the team, Smith has been actively pursuing his purpose on the field.
Finishing his college career at East Carolina, Smith, who is known for his speed, ended with more than 1,000 receiving yards and led the team to a victory at the Military Bowl, capturing the Most Valuable Player award.
The Dallas Cowboys focused on their defensive side of the ball, but they used their third and final pick in Round 7 on Smith, who just finished his college career as an East Carolina wide receiver. Smith will wear the No. 86 jersey, and with his 6-foot-3, 189-pound stature, he will be sure to stand out.
After a 2022 injury sidelined Smith, he was more than determined to rehab back to a place on the field. Smith had broken his hip and torn his oblique.
Photo Provided By East Carolina University
Former high school teacher and mentor at Huntingtown High, Dr. Nathan Kimbro now owns The Heat Lab in Calvert County and was instrumental in Smith’s recovery process.
Smith stated via Instagram @theheatlabssauna that it [the injury] made him realize that he needed to shift and readjust to do what he had to do to get back on the football field.
His recovery time was shortened and he found what worked for him. Coming home to Huntingtown, he found that saunas, cold plunging, cupping, IV therapy, as well as red-light therapy and stretching, were just what he needed.
Smith has definitely felt the professional stretching that his mind and body are going through to compete at the next level. East Carolina head football coach Blake Harrell said he has no doubt that Smith will be an asset to the Dallas Cowboys lineup.
Look out in the next few years as Smith’s younger brother, Evan Powell, a defensive lineman who redshirted last season for East Carolina, just may be the next in his family to enter the NFL draft.
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