Long after most of his teammates had pulled off their soaked uniforms and headed home following a 21-6 loss to Sherwood, Andre Smith remained in the deluge, flat on his back on the field at Seneca Valley, eyes closed, raindrops pelting his face.
It was Seneca Valley’s only regular-season defeat of 2005. But Smith was coping with a much more significant loss — that of his 41-year-old mother, who died that summer of leukemia.
As a reporter approached, two teammates who had remained behind to console Smith shooed the reporter away. But Smith rose and insisted on speaking. Without revealing the source of his anguish, Smith, a reserved teenager of few words, spoke eloquently of the lessons learned in defeat and the promise of a new day.
Five years later, Smith is a tight end at Virginia Tech, a special teams mainstay and a quiet leader for the No. 12 Hokies, who play No. 20 Florida State in the ACC Championship game Saturday.
As his college career approaches its conclusion, the 6-foot-5, 272-pound Smith holds memories of his mother close. “Mamma’s Boy” is tattooed across his back. On his left forearm is his mother’s name in ink. On the other, “ONE LOVE,” the joyous Bob Marley tune that Smith remembers his mom playing in their Germantown townhouse.
It was Julida Kilafwakun, a single mother of three, who showed Smith how to succeed. After arriving in the United States from Micronesia, she learned English and put herself through college.
Smith has had a similar struggle at Virginia Tech, but over time he made himself indispensable with his work on special teams and as a blocking tight end. This year, with Smith in the starting lineup for the first time, the Hokies have discovered his ability as a red zone weapon. Five of his 17 catches have been for touchdowns.
Smith’s career at Virginia Tech has mirrored the life of his mother.
“She was about as determined as determined gets,” Smith told the Virginian-Pilot. “To see the way she would take care of her schoolwork and take care of us as at the same time, stay up all night working on things, I think that self-motivation was just in me.”
