Nigel Smith II

Nigel Smith II made a big impression early on in his high school career, especially since he arrived at Melissa (Texas) High School as a 6-foot-5, 250-pound 15-year-old freshman. “His dad is 6-9 and 280 pounds,” Melissa coach Matt Nally told Irish Sports Daily. “You think that his dad (former SMU basketball player Nigel Smith) could play for the Dallas Cowboys. He’s just a massive human being who is put together extremely well. But Nigel is a football player. You can't ask for a better kid as a player. His motor is unbelievable. He's just that prototypical coach's kid – works his butt off, gets up here before anybody else is up here, gets in a workout, goes through school and during the athletic period, works out again and then comes back and lifts after school. So, you just can't ask for a better kid in the situation that he is in. The work ethic that he has is just uncanny.” That work ethic helped Smith earn second-team Max Preps Junior All-American, Texas District 7-5A-II Defensive Lineman of the Year and Texas Sportswriters Association Class 5A first-team all-state honors in 2022. He was the Texas District 7-4A-I unanimous Defensive Lineman of the Year as a sophomore after being named the district’s newcomer of the year as a freshman. Smith enjoys playing basketball and gaming when he’s not involved with football.