From game-changer on field to life-changer off of it

From the outside, Southeast Fort Wayne where Smith grew up looks more like an aging suburban area than older urban community. There are basketball backboards with no rims, playgrounds with overgrown grass, and occasional yards with cars parked in them. Many of the lots are big and have houses that sit back from the street.

Jaylon and his older brother, Rod, were well known in the community. They were talented athletes who rated among the nation’s best at their respective positions in high school and/or college — Rod as a running back, Jaylon as a linebacker. But the brothers had personalities as different as the positions they played.

Rod, who would go on to play at Ohio State and in the NFL (he and Jaylon were teammates on the Cowboys for three seasons), was outgoing and more likely to hang with friends, while Jaylon was often reserved and more interested in spending time with younger relatives or kids in the neighborhood. In many ways, Jaylon had an old soul that was best reflected by his insatiable curiosity. He was the kid who was always asking questions. It wasn’t enough to know the what. He had to know the why and how, as well.

That’s why Michael Ledo wasn’t surprised in 2011, when Smith, then a sophomore in high school, inserted himself into a conversation Ledo was having with another adult. Ledo, then the founder and coach of AWP Sports, had just loaded his club football team into the 15-passenger van for the five-hour trip home from Pittsburgh, where they had competed in a regional 7-on-7 tournament. It didn’t take long before the only sounds in the vehicle were the hum of the tires against the highway and the Christian rap on the stereo. The back of the van was largely quiet because, after two days of intense battles, many of the players were worn out and eager to slip their headphones over their ears and fall asleep.

The team placed a disappointing fifth among the 30 tournament participants, but Ledo wasn’t concerned. For one, it was the group’s first year together. But more importantly, he felt he had taken advantage of an opportunity to make a positive impact on young males by helping them understand the importance of accountability, hard work and teamwork. Football was secondary for him; life was first.

During the drive home, Ledo went back and forth with Aaron Lane, a close friend and assistant coach in the passenger seat, about the concepts of leadership and character — more specifically, how to define and develop them. The men thought they had the front of the van to themselves, but suddenly a head popped up between their seats from the second row. Smith had been listening to every word despite having his eyes closed. He had questions that needed answering.

“He was fully engaged, asking things like, ‘What about this? How do you achieve that?’” Ledo said. “I spent 15 years running that company before I moved on, worked with 200 kids who went Division I, and 15 who went to the pros. Jaylon was the best student I ever had — and when I say student, I mean student of life.”