POCATELLO, Idaho – Evan Smith was inducted as the 18th member of Idaho State's Ring of Honor at halftime of Saturday's Homecoming festivities vs. Eastern Washington.
Smith is the ninth football player to receive this honor, joining Ed Bell, Babe Caccia, Case deBruijn, Merril Hoge, Milton 'Dubby' Holt,
Tom Jewell, Mike Machurek and Jared Allen.
"I was extremely honored, very overwhelmed; I was excited," Smith said. "Reading up on it and being the 18th member, only the ninth football player to ever do it, it's very special. For me to have my name up there next to some of the greats that have gone to this school is very touching and kind of overwhelming to be completely honest."
Following his 2004 redshirt season at ISU, Smith started 10 games at left guard. By 2006 six he had established himself as the starter and never relinquished the spot in his final three years, ending his career with 36 straight starts. He also obtained four Big Sky Conference honorable mentions during his time at ISU.
"First of all, I'd like to thank Idaho State," Smith said. "They gave me an opportunity to come here, play football and get my education. I'm just happy that I've been able to represent the university in a positive light for so many years in the NFL and give them recognition because they've obviously helped me on my journey in life."
Smith's collegiate career came to a close without a call from an NFL team on draft day. After an offseason spent training, he earned a contract with the 2009 Green Bay Packers. Smith ended the 2011 season with a championship ring and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV.
After starting 16 games protecting former league-MVP Aaron Rodgers in 2013, Smith became an unrestricted free agent and signed a four-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Being the current starting center for the Bucs, he hopes to bring a winning culture to the team.
"Now I'm playing for another really good organization that's going to be coming up here pretty quick," said Smith. "We are turning the culture around down there in Tampa Bay, and we are going to be winning more football games and be a lot better football team than I think a lot of people are giving us credit for."
Though he is busy with his new team, Smith still finds time to check in on his alma mater and carries high praise for their coach.
"I think coach Kramer has been doing a fantastic job turning the culture around because I think that was the hardest thing for us when I was here," said Smith. "We were coming from a winning culture, we started struggling and we never picked the pieces back up. To have someone come in here and really establish a new culture of winning and put the team back in the national light like that is a really good thing for the state."
During halftime of the ISU homecoming game against Eastern Washington, Smith, daughter in hand and family by his side, was recognized as the newest inductee to the Ring of Honor.
"I think the biggest highlight has been having my family here," said Smith. "Obviously going into the ring is a big highlight, but I don't think it would be overly special without having my family here."
Now in his seventh season, Smith has started in 42 of his 78 NFL games played. He hopes he will continue to make an impact as a member of the league.
"I found myself being afforded great opportunities and I was lucky enough to take advantage of them, work very hard, realize some mistakes I made and correct them," Smith said. "It has afforded me a very long career thus far in the NFL. I hope to keep extending it until I can't play anymore."
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