Brett Smith's mom excited for his first professional start

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ rookie quarterback will be starting Friday night, as the team pushes for its first win of the regular season. 

Brett Smith’s mother said this has been a long time coming. 

“This has kind of always been what he’s talked about since he was able to talk.”

Smith played through high school, and three years of university, then got bounced around a few NFL and CFL teams before being signed by the Riders. 

As one might expect from a mother, Kim Smith calls Brett “the best”.

“He has the biggest heart. He has a lot of energy. He has a lot of drive. He’s always a lot of fun to be around. He fills the room.”

Speaking with MainStreet on Friday, Kim shared stories from Brett’s childhood including one about how he was given a book about the Heisman Trophy winners when he was five, and memorized every player.

“People used to love to walk up to him and say ‘who won the Heisman trophy in ’56, and he would be able to tell you.”

She said he also used to reenact football games. 

“He never watched a game sitting. He was always trying to copy the quarterback.”

Kim said that when he was in elementary school Brett found the tapes of when his father played football.

“He would play them until he had memorized them, and he would reenact them all, and then he would quiz my husband on it. ‘Why’d you throw that pick dad?’ ‘Why’d you get tackled, get sacked, you should have gotten rid of the ball.'”

She sounded excited, knowing that the Riders are a big deal in Saskatchewan. She said Brett had told her the fan support was huge. 

“I don’t think I want to put a watermelon on my head, but I like it when other people do it,” she laughed.

Kim wasn’t able to head to Edmonton for the game, but she said her husband will be there to watch their son make his first professional football start.

lschick@rawlco.com
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