Freshman Smith Shines as Kick Returner

After carving through the Bucknell coverage unit on Oct. 15, Seitu Smith III turned on his jets and galloped towards the end zone, adding to the day’s offensive onslaught while becoming the first Harvard freshman to ever return a kickoff for a touchdown.

Coming back to the sideline, the Florida native was greeted not with jubilation, but with a sense of contentment that was a long time coming.

“They said ‘It’s about time,’” Smith recalled. “On the first kickoff, if we had just picked up that one block, it would’ve been a touchdown. We knew if we picked it up on the next kick, we were going to score.”

His teammates had been predicting a touchdown for more than a couple of quarters too.

“They had been waiting for one from the first week,” Smith said. “We [had] five or six close ones. Now we are waiting on the next … There will be another one.”

Thanks to his 91-yard score two weeks ago, in addition to several other long runbacks, Smith is now ranked fourth nationally in kick return average with 31.1 yards per return.

The 5’11” returner followed up his record-setting game against the Bison with an even stronger all-around performance against Princeton Saturday. Beyond returning five kickoffs for a total of 122 yards, Smith also ran a punt back to the 11-yard line before a Tigers tackle saved a touchdown.

The freshman also led the team with a career-high six catches for 54 yards. Tallying 220 all-purpose yards on the day, Smith became the first Harvard rookie in eight years to surpass 200 all-purpose yards in a single game.

“Coming into the game, looking at the way Princeton played defense, we expected [Smith] to catch a few balls,” senior quarterback Collier Winters said. “I don’t know if we have anyone with his game speed on offense. He’s our big playmaker-type guy.”

For his efforts, Smith was named the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week as well as the Ancient Eight co-Rookie of the Week.

Despite the impressive performance, Smith believes he could have done even better, as cramps slowed him down in the second half of the shootout with Princeton. Fortunately for the freshman, Harvard coach Tim Murphy said that he will try to get more touches for the return man extraordinaire.

“[Sophomore wideout] Matt Brown and Seitu are two guys we are trying to get more reps for because they are clearly outstanding athletes and competitors,” Murphy said. “We’ve transitioned to packages for those guys, because they are talented athletes that deserve to play.”

While Smith said he would embrace a larger offensive role, he feels most at home on special teams.

“You know you can catch it ... And make plays,” Smith said. “There is nothing like returning a kick.”

Smith has certainly made plays this season, running his way past defenses and into the Crimson record book, to his coach’s approval.

“[Smith] has been a pleasant surprise,” Murphy said. “But we had high expectations because we thought he was one of our top recruits. The only surprise is that he’s been able to transition to our offense so flawlessly for a freshman.”

Senior wideout Alex Sarkisian has been similarly impressed by how quickly Smith has adapted to the college game.

“It takes a special kind of player to come in and play as much as he does as a freshman,” Sarkisian said. “But he has a great mental approach to the game and works hard on knowing all of the plays.”

In addition to learning a new playbook, Smith has had to adjust quickly to a completely different style of play.

“[Ivy football] is a tougher type of football,” Smith said. “In Florida, we are all speed, but here everyone is tough, everyone is stronger. That’s the main difference.”

Since joining the squad, Smith has tried to combine the contrasting styles of play.

“Coach wants me to play with speed, so I play with it,” he said. “But he also wants me to play with toughness.”

The rookie says there are other attributes that have helped him succeed as a returner.

“I think it’s my instinct,” he says. “Reacting to player’s movements and finding the hole to run through and then the burst of speed after.”

As fast as Smith is on the gridiron, he has flown up the depth charts even faster. Coming into the preseason, the rookie was behind a couple of other players in the returning pecking order but was named the starting returner on the day of the team’s first game. Similarly, Smith has gone from an afterthought in the passing game to one of Winters’ top targets, with still more room to move.

“He certainly has the potential to be a number one receiver,” Sarkisian said.

While that may be the case, Smith is currently happy in the slot role.

“I think for me I’ll always be the main slot guy, being at my height with my quickness,” Smith said. “I like [that role] a lot. Linebackers can’t keep up.”