10 Things You Didn't Know About Za'Darius Smith

We all know and love one of the newest editions that Mark Stoops has brought to the Big Blue Nation, quarterback hunter extraordinaire, Za'Darius Smith. Smith was one of Stoops' earliest and biggest recruits in his first class and the big man has become a legend around these parts ever since. Za'Darius has some big expectations this year will all eyes trained on his number 94 lined up next to Bud Dupree as he has become a fan favorite for the Cats even after just 4 games. Lets face it, he was a favorite before he even played a down at Kentucky, hes just that kind of guy and has been fully embraced by the fans. But do you really know Za'Darius? Here are ten things you probably don't know about him. 1. In addition to being recruited by Kentucky, Smith also held offers from Florida St., Miami, Auburn, Missouri, Ohio State, Texas, and Texas A&M. People say the best way to judge a commit is by who else was recruiting him. YEAH. I think we got a good one BBN. 2. His name Za'Darius was in fact originally intended to be that of a Greek god, but the Greeks considered the name to be simply too fearsome for just a mere god. They decided to let Za'Darius' mother use it instead. 3. Smith was ranked as the number one strong side defensive end coming out of junior college. His previous school East Mississippi CC went bankrupt after attempting to build a statue in honor of Za'Darius and subsequently spending all their funds on enough bronze to sculpt the arms of Za'Darius. 4. Despite being a highly ranked recruit when he committed to the Cats, Smith didn't even play football until his senior year of high school. Za'Darius grew up playing basketball in Greenville Alabama and continued to play basketball through high school. 5. His signature dreadlocks were actually passed down to him by former Kentucky defensive great Danny Trevathan. Trevathan felt it was only right to pass the dreads down, as is custom among elite defensive players. (Khalid Henderson was the recipient of Winston Guy's dreads in case you were wondering) 6. At a staggering 6'6 and 250 pounds, Za'Darius is actually a descendant of the He-Man bloodline. (He is also 1/16th barbarian) 7. Two members of Za'Darius' family played college football as well as played in the NFL. His brother Bob played center for the Auburn Tigers and later the Denver Broncos, and his cousin Davern played at Troy and went on to play for the New York Giants. His niece is also currently plays basketball for Florida St. As you can tell Smith comes from a very athletic family. 8. Za'Darius REALLY likes to ride his bike. 9. Za'Darius has filled in as a stunt double for rapper 2 Chainz in his last two videos. There has been a dispute however over who had the "really tall cool guy with dreadlocks" look first. 10. Za'Darius is currently majoring in community and leadership development and when asked who he would Skype if he could choose anyone he wanted, he responded "God". I wasn't aware you could Skype yourself, but who am I to question Big Z.   Go Cats. @DaveyRudolphKSR