“Like, ‘You want in?’ But when 22 wants to do something,” Metellus said, referring to Smith’s jersey number, “he does it.”
Metellus is given that respect after years of improving and putting himself out there. He approached Kevin O’Connell during their first camp together in 2022, taking up the head coach on his offer for players to speak to the team. Metellus wanted to tell his story as an NFL longshot, a former three-star recruit who was a late-round draft pick.
“His vocal leadership is something, quite honestly, I’m not really great at,” said Smith, a fellow team captain. “Having him, especially in our [defensive back] room, has been awesome. He’s always going to be the first one to speak up when we need it. He leads by example, but he also says the right things when we need to hear them. It’s just in his nature.”
“When I came into the league, I had a coach that told me that it doesn’t always have to be the guy you think it is,” Smith said. “It’s not always, like, Ray Lewis.”
Metellus said he’s spoken at various colleges, camps and seminars, including a mental health panel at St. Thomas this summer.
But he gets the most speaking time in the pregame huddle every Sunday, when he says nothing is prepared or written down.