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Telvin SmithLowndes County High SchoolValdosta, Georgia by Robert Preston Jr. photography by Johnathan Chick |
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One series. Three plays. That’s how long it took for Telvin Smith’s football future to turn completely around. It was Friday, October 3, 2008, and the Lowndes Vikings were playing Northside Warner Robins at Lowndes’ Martin Stadium. Both teams were ranked nationally, and it was a game everyone in the state was watching. “Big players step up in big games,” the old adage goes. That night, Telvin proved he was a big player. Telvin, who began the 2008 season in limbo as far as a position was concerned, was playing middle linebacker for the first time all season. He had been playing some at defensive end during the first few games of the year. However, he didn’t start, and he wasn’t exactly sure what role he would play as the season unfolded. After the Northside game, all of those questions would be answered. In the third quarter Lowndes was in command, but the ever-dangerous Eagles weren’t ready to roll over and hand the game to the Vikings. Then Telvin stepped into the spotlight. He entered the game and, in the first play of the possession, burst through the line and made a big tackle behind the line. The second play was a toss. The guard pulled, leaving an open alley to the ball carrier. Telvin darted through the opening and brought down the back. The third play was a pass that ended up getting deflected by a lineman. Telvin drew a bead on the ball and pulled it out of the air for an interception. Many fans credited those three plays as the proverbial straw that broke the Eagles’ collective back. Lowndes went on to win in convincing fashion, 28-7, and proved that they were one of the best high school football teams in the country. That night Telvin proved he was one of the best players on the team. According to MaxPreps.com, Telvin finished the game with seven tackles, third-most on the team for that contest. “That was when it changed for me. I was on the bench, and people came over to the fence calling my name, trying to shake my hand. It was kind of crazy,” he remembers. Telvin became an almost overnight sensation. He had been good as a defensive end, but he wasn’t being recruited. After the Northside game, that also changed. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets came calling first. The University of Georgia, Florida State, Auburn, LSU, Louisville, Ole Miss, Purdue, South Carolina, Western Kentucky, Central Florida, Indiana and Illinois followed. Telvin is now considered to be one of the top linebackers in the state and is listed by Scout.com as No. 29 in the country at outside linebacker. Scout.com has Telvin at 6’3”, 198 pounds. He says he’s gotten a little bigger and is now 6’4”, 205. He carries that size through the 40-yard dash in 4.85 seconds. Telvin finished the 2008 season with 97 total tackles and two interceptions. (Against Valdosta, he returned a third interception for a touchdown but the pick was called back on a roughing the passer infraction.) Telvin hasn’t made a decision as to what school he plans to attend, but Georgia, LSU, FSU and Auburn are at the top of the list. Two teammates, Gerald Demps and Greg Reid (who is also Telvin’s cousin), signed with FSU. “That got me looking at FSU. I attended the spring game down there and had fun,” he says. When Telvin began playing football at the Boys’ Club as a six-year-old (Greg Reid’s mother organized the team), he didn’t think it would lead to this. He played center at first, then moved to defensive end. He says he was always a little on the small side and wasn’t the best player on the field. “But I played hard and I had heart,” he says. In middle school, Telvin was a defensive back and a wingback. By his freshman year, he was too tall to play wing, so he moved to defensive end and then to linebacker. He’s being recruited as an outside linebacker, though he enjoys playing middle linebacker. “I always wanted to be a team leader and call the plays,” he says. Telvin’s path hasn’t been easy. Early on he battled several injuries, including a broken wrist, that left his football career in question. He fought through the injuries and finally established himself as a true impact player. “It’s been amazing to see him develop. I can’t believe it. It happened so fast,” says Telvin’s mother, Dorothy Wilkes. |
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After the win over Northside, Telvin started thinking about playing college football. However, it took Dorothy a little longer to see the full measure of her son’s talent. Her epiphany came during Lowndes’ 17-7 quarterfinal loss to Grayson. “There was so much hype around that game. I saw him make a big hit and I was amazed. After that game, I told him he was going to the NFL,” she says. According to MaxPreps.com, Telvin had 18 tackles against Grayson.
Understandably, Telvin has received quite a bit of attention over the last eight or nine months. However, he’s made the transition from being an unheralded platoon player to one of the state’s best at his position quite well. Dorothy describes her son as very humble and laid back. “He stays quiet. I’m the excited one,” she says. Her description is an apt one; when talking with Telvin, you never get the feeling you are talking with a player who has a legitimate chance of joining the ranks of the Vikings’ NFL alumni. “He handles all the attention very well. He simply takes it as it comes,” says his mother. At the same time, Telvin has a keen understanding of the responsibility that comes with his kind of talent. He dreams of playing in the NFL, but he’s not putting all of his eggs into that basket. Telvin knows his skills on the football field have put him in a position to be a role model for others, and he takes that responsibility very seriously. “He wants to give back to others. He talks about that a lot,” says Dorothy. He isn’t waiting until college or the NFL to be a positive influence on others. Telvin is very involved at his church, Feed My Sheep Ministry in Clyattville, where he serves as a youth speaker. Telvin also understands that as important as football is, it isn’t everything. If a professional football career doesn’t pan out, he would like to teach and coach football. “He knows this may not last. He’s taking everything moment by moment and enjoying it,” says Dorothy. If he does end up in the NFL, Dorothy doesn’t think her son will simply be a football player. She is firmly convinced that he will use this opportunity – no matter how far he goes – to help others. “He has the heart, and he has the glory,” she states proudly. In addition to football, Telvin also plays basketball and runs track. He never played organized basketball until his freshman year, when, at the urging of several of his friends, he decided to try out. “I was surprised I made the team,” he laughs. He plays power forward or center. However, he is undecided about his basketball future. “I’m not sure if I’ll play this year," he says. "It depends on football.” Telvin competes in the 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay and 400 meters on the Lowndes track team. His 4x400 team finished eighth in the state, while the 4x100 squad came in third in the region. • | |
January 2012
Robert Preston Jr. 
Micki K Photography 
