Fish Smithson

Classroom

A dedicated student, Fish Smithson has earned a spot on the Big 12 Commissioners Honor Roll and the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll for three straight semesters. In his five semesters as a Jayhawk, Smithson has raised the bar for himself in the classroom each time. He has taken advantage of the resources provided to him by the Kansas Academic staff and gone the extra mile to achieve his goals. He is looking forward to earning his degree from Kansas in sport management in December 2016 after just six semesters at KU and a semester earlier than most.

Character

Smithson spent one season at Hartnell College prior to joining the Kansas program, but he wasted little time making an impact upon his arrival. After playing just one season at KU, he quickly emerged as a leader among his peers. Not one to settle for just leading by example, Smithson pushes his teammates to be the best men they can be on a daily basis. He has high standards for himself and encourages his teammates to do the same, whether it is on the field or off it. Because of his unwavering dedication to being a great man and a great football player, Smithson was voted by his peers to be a team captain as both a junior and a senior—a true sign of the respect they have for him. In addition, Smithson was recently named the recipient of the Crimson Climb Award at KU’s Rock Chalk Choice Awards. The Crimson Climb Award is given to a student-athlete who served as an inspiration to others by overcoming challenges and exceeding academic expectations.

Community

Smithson learned at a young age the importance of giving your time to assist others. As he transitioned into high school, his older brother, Shaky Smithson, became his legal guardian while playing college football at the University of Utah. The brothers took care of each other, but also relied on the kindness of others to make it. (See the story: http://kuathne.ws/1j5io8M)

With his brother’s selfless influence, Smithson now spends a great deal of his free time volunteering for various community service projects around Lawrence. He has participated in the following: Habitat for Humanity, Train Like a Jayhawk (football clinic for elementary students), reading at local elementary schools, working at an elementary school open gym with local Special Olympics kids, football clinics for Special Olympians and ringing the bells during the holidays for the Salvation Army. He has worked numerous times with Just Food serving the homeless, preparing the meals to serve the homeless and stocking the shelves with all of the food donated to Just Food. He participated in National Walk to School Day with local elementary school kids and was a part of a weekly service project called “Community Kickoff” in which KU football players would visit patients at Lawrence Memorial Hospital each Friday of a home football game weekend during the fall. Kansas football does a tremendous amount of service in the community, and Smithson is always the first player to sign up. He works tirelessly to serve others.

Competition

The heart and soul of Kansas football, Smithson made an immediate impact in his first season as a starter for the KU defense in 2015. Smithson, who was voted a team captain by his peers in each of the last two seasons, turned in one of the top seasons in school history by a Jayhawk defensive back. Smithson, a safety, concluded his junior campaign as the top tackler in the Big 12 Conference and 14th nationally with 10.1 stops per game and also led the NCAA in solo tackles with 7.9 per contest on his way to picking up consensus second-team All-Big 12 honors. Smithson—one of just six two-time team captains in KU history—has picked up where he left off, as he ranks among the Big 12 leaders in both tackles and passes defended early in the 2016 campaign. In addition, he has added returning punts to his repertoire as a senior.