INSTITUTE – West Virginia State University football player Ryan Smoot changed his major from business to criminal justice, but the former still shapes his actions on and off the field.
“I have always had a business-oriented state of mind,” he said.
An aspiring entrepreneur, the 20-year-old Smoot has started his own business in which he buys wholesale items – mainly shoes and clothes by companies such as Nike and Polo – and sells them for profit on websites such as eBay and Facebook.
“It has been going well for me,” said Smoot, who is from Columbus, Ohio. “I have been able to go back each month and buy more inventory than I bought the previous month.
“I already set up a business license,” he added. “I plan on doing a partnership with my girlfriend. It’s a work in progress. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
Smoot also applies his business mindset to his sport, in which he is willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. It is a necessary attitude for a player who might have a different position this season.
“We may be moving him to linebacker,” West Virginia State Coach Earl Monroe said of Smoot, a 5-foot-8, 210-pound junior who started at safety last season. “He is one of the guys who has the most experience coming back.
“He was adjusting to the move to safety, but he played in the box all of his life. He came in here under-sized for linebacker, so we moved him to safety.”
Monroe made the same move with former All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection Valentine Bon, who went from safety to linebacker.
“I think his future is in the box,” Monroe said of Smoot. “Bon was the litmus test for us. Smoot is the same kind of player. It worked out well for us with Bon, and we are looking at repeating the process with Smoot. It will increase our speed in the secondary and put Smoot in the box where he belongs.”
Smoot is open to a move if it benefits his team.
“I’m a competitor,” said Smoot, who recorded 65 tackles, intercepted three passes and forced two fumbles last season. “Wherever they put me on the field, I’m going to work hard. I will just go with it and do my best.”
Smoot realizes he needs to do more than make plays.
“I feel like I have to bring a lot of energy to the table,” he said. “I have to lead my team. I have to show a lot of effort and make sure the team comes together during camp.”
The Yellow Jackets, who had a 3-7 overall record and 2-6 league mark in 2009, returns only three offensive starters and three defensive starters.
“We have a lot of holes to fill,” said Monroe, who enters his fifth season with a 22-19 record. “We have some guys signed to play those positions, but until you get them in your system and see how they are going to grasp it and work in it, you just don’t know about them.”
Asked which recruits could contribute this season, Monroe said, “I don’t like to name freshmen because it seems like every time I do, they don’t pan out. I don’t want to jinx them.”
Notable returnees include senior receiver Jermain King, senior center Ryan Miller, junior guard Jarett Ford, junior receiver Landon Johnson and junior running back Fabian Payne on offense and senior safety Nick Mullins, senior tackle James Stormer, junior end Akeem Nofiu and junior linebacker Chris Young on defense.
“People are going to have to step up,” Smoot said. “It’s just like anything else. You have to rebuild. Players who didn’t start last year are going to have to step up and do their part to help the team win this year.”
Brothers Craig Wissler (kicker) and David Wissler (punter) are back to man those positions for the second consecutive season.
“That is a plus,” Monroe said.
Monroe needs two of his top defenders, senior end Elisha Merchant (knee) and sophomore tackle Casey Griffin (shoulder), to return from injuries that sidelined them during the spring.
"Casey is expected to be OK, but Elisha is still a huge question mark," Monroe said. "It would be a huge blow if we don't get him back because that was a hole we didn't think we would have to fill."
Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Yellow Jackets is at quarterback, where four-year starter Kevin O’Brien graduated.
Also gone are Bon and fellow all-conference linebacker Andrew Eggleton, the league’s top two tacklers last season.
“I don’t know if you replace those guys or just fill their spots until someone steps up and performs as well as they did,” Monroe said of Bon, Eggleton and O’Brien.
The leading candidates to replace O’Brien are Joe Thornton, Ricky Phillips and Robert Jackson.
“It’s an open competition,” Monroe said. “There is no favorite.”
Even with all of the issues facing him, Monroe is excited about preseason practice, which began Thursday.
"We are ready to see what we have and start putting a team together,” he said. “Hopefully, the growing pains won't be too long or too severe."
West Virginia State will face Central State (Ohio) University on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. in the Dayton Classic at Welcome Stadium in the teams’ season opener.
The Yellow Jackets beat the Marauders 6-0 last year.