DETROIT (WOOD) — When Derik Smith was a little boy, he had the same dream a lot of boys have: to be drafted into the NFL.
He won’t realize that dream this weekend, but it’s a close second as he gets ready to walk on stage and announce a pick for the Denver Broncos on Saturday.
“Just being able to, like, show that I’m able to do just as much as everybody else and be one with everybody is just so important,” he explained.
Smith has always loved football, and he was a starter when he was around 6 years old. The way he played the game changed suddenly not long after that, when he broke a bone in his leg.
“I had cancer in my tibia. I was playing football in the living room and threw the ball up, shattered my leg and then went to the doctor … They told me we needed to amputate soon,” recalled Smith.
The decision to follow through with the amputation wasn’t easy.
“At first, I didn’t want to, because I didn’t want to be that kid where I walk into the grocery store and realize everybody’s looking at me because of my leg,” he said.
He eventually realized it was what needed to happen, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Smith now plays football at Hope College and is also on the track and field team, where he competes in long jump, discus and javelin. He has put his NFL dreams on hold for now while he focuses on a more immediate goal of competing in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, for which he already qualified in time trials.
But first, the draft — an opportunity that he says has resulted from his challenges. Smith said the American Cancer Society nominated him to be an announcer at the event because of his experience with the disease.
“If I didn’t lose my leg, I would never have this opportunity … I understand that I’m not getting drafted, but it’s just so cool to be up on that stage and making a pick for someone else to have that dream for them. It’s just just an amazing opportunity,” Smith said.