Photography by Steve Buchanan
As a freshman at Queen Anne’s County High, Wilson Smothers, Jr., had ideal size for a running back at 230 pounds. With that bulk, Smothers could run over defenders. However, he didn’t get much varsity playing time. Looking back, Smothers admits that was because he didn’t work hard enough.
“I should have been able to play running back, but I was in really bad shape,” Smothers says. “I was just lazy.”
Smothers decided to do something about it after his freshman year. He started working out—a lot. Two hours each day after basketball season and four hours a day in the summer. He lifted weights and did several different football drills.
“I fell in love with training,” says Smothers, now a junior. “I was really locked into it. I just wanted to get better.”
The effect on his physic was dramatic. He lost 30 pounds over time. “He worked extra hard in the offseason and really put in the time,” Queen Anne’s County Football Coach Al Waters says. “He bought bands that would stretch, a running parachute, and his dad would take him out to hills. He did all that in addition to our training.”
The 5-foot-10 Smothers got quicker, stronger, and more dangerous, and soon was on his way to high school stardom. He ripped off big run after big run. Smothers had a breakout season in 2021, rushing for 1,302 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Smothers had some memorable games. He ran for 242 yards and three touchdowns against Stephen Decatur High School. In another game he totaled 177 yards and four touchdowns on only four carries. “At one point, he was top three in the state for rushing yards,” Waters says. “It really put him on the map—big time. Talking to other coaches at clinics. They might not know his name, but they knew we had a stud running back. He definitely earned a reputation around the state.”
Enough of a reputation that he was recruited by several Division I schools, including getting an offer from West Point. Smothers also visited Navy, Kent State, and Bowling Green. But Army remains his top choice—and by a wide margin. He carries a weighted 3.56 grade-point average.
“They offered me to come to the school to play and I visited,” Smothers says. “They showed a lot of love toward me and were very aggressive in the recruiting process. I felt welcome at the school. They have a good football program, and they definitely take care of you at the school.”
Smothers was a standout in basketball, too. After spending time on the junior varsity as a freshman, he got called up to the varsity late in the season. Though his sophomore year got wiped out because of the pandemic, he dominated as a junior.
Smothers, a point guard, averaged 17 points and six assists a game to lead the Falcons to a 19-1 record. He scored 20 points or more in five different games. Former Queen Anne’s Boys Basketball Coach Kwandrey Wilson says Smothers could have played college basketball.
“He was a true leader,” Wilson recalls. “If you asked him to stop the best player on the other team—even if he was 6-7 or 6-8—he would guard him with no hesitation. If we needed him to score late in a game, he would do it. I call him a one-of-a-kind athlete. He was just good at everything he did.”
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