DeVonta Smith kept running into walls until he was an NFL star

DeVonta Smith kept running into walls until he was an NFL star originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Picture young DeVonta Smith - maybe 7 or 8 years old - running as fast as he could.

Inside his house.

Straight into a wall.

How did he get so tough? That's how he got so tough.

I used to run through the hallway and tackle myself," Smith said with a smirk.

You didwhat?

Just hit the wall and fall," he said. That was me simulating somebody tackling me."

What did your mom say about that?

I waited until she wasn't home," he said with that same DeVonta smirk.

Didn't you get hurt? Little kid running head-on into awall?

Nah," he said. Just popped back up and did it again."

Smith is different. But that little anecdote does help us understand just a little bit better how such a little guy - 6-foot, 165 tops - became such a tough NFL player.

Smith takes a beating out there. He gets clobbered. But have you ever seen him slow to get up? Have you ever seen him wobble back to the sideline? Have you ever seen him give a defender the satisfaction of knowing that last hit hurt?

Nope.

That's just not how he's wired.

Can't let no man see you weak," Smith said at his locker Wednesday.

So, no matter how violently he gets drilled, he jumps up, tosses the ball to the ref and jogs back to the huddle to do it again.

Defensive guys want to see you get up slow or just lay there," Smith said. They feed off that."

And Smith's defensive teammates feed off those big hits, as well. In a different way. Fires em up.

As a defensive player, to hit a guy the way he gets hit and to see him pop right back up and keep doing it and keep doing it and keep doing it? It's tough to go against," Zack Baun said. It's the epitome of toughness, in my opinion.

Pops right up every time. It's pure toughness. That's what it is. And he's a good example for the rest of the guys on the team. We all feed off it."

According to a Stathead search, the only other regular starters in Eagles history who have been 170 or less are 155-pound cornerback Mark McMillian - Mighty Mouse - who played here from 1992 through 1995 - and two guys from the 1940s: 165-pound halfback Bosh Prichard and 165-pound safety Pat McHugh.

The only other starting receiver currently in the NFL who's under 170 is 165-pound Xavier Worthy of the Chiefs.

As a defensive guy, that's the kind of guy I want on my team," Reed Blankenship said. I mean, it's crazy. It doesn't matter how hard you hit him, he'll get back up. If I'm playing against him, I'm like, Man, this dude's gonna keep getting up, he's not gonna stay down at all, what do I have to do?'

You're not going to knock him out of the game. You always gotta worry about No. 6."

There haven't been many wide receivers in NFL history like Smith.

He's officially listed at 170 pounds, so we'll use that figure, but he's really closer to 165. But Smith is only the fifth wide receiver ever who weighed 170 or less with 5,000 career receiving yards.

The others are Drew Hill, who played for the Rams, Oilers and Falcons in the 1980s and early 1990s, Hall of Famer Cliff Branch, who was with the Raiders in the 1970s and early 1980s, Anthony Carter, the Vikings great in the 1980s and early 1990s, and Alfred Jenkins, who was with the Falcons in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the last 30 years? Smith is the only player this small who's been this good.

I don't think it's something that's maybe voiced enough, but everybody sees it, everybody feels it," said Jalen Hurts, his teammate at Alabama for two years and since 2021 with the Eagles.

And it definitely oozes through the team. I mean, he's been that size his whole entire career, his whole life. And I remember times asking him, you know, How much do you weigh?'

And I stopped asking him that as the years have gone on because that's no indication of what type of player he is. He's a hell of a player and he's been making some big-time plays."

After a slow start, Smith is enjoying one of the best stretches of his career.

Through Week 4, Smith had only 183 yards, his fewest ever through four games. Fast forward three weeks and he now has 504 yards, his most ever through seven games.

Smith is on pace for a career-high 1,224 yards. He's got 5,110 career yards now, including the postseason. Only Mike Quick and DeSean Jackson got to 5,000 yards faster in Eagles history.

His 183 yards in the win over the Vikings Sunday was a career high and the most by an Eagle in 11 years.

DeVonta is so tough," Nick Sirianni said. I know he talked a lot about this in college, about finishing runs and finding ways to get ugly yards after the catch. He's going to go look for those ugly runs and extra yards because of just his makeup, who he is and the toughness that he has.

I remember the Super Bowl in 22, our first third down, he catches a little shallow route and (Justin) Reed comes over and just smokes him on the sideline and he hit him good. His feet were up over his head and Smitty just gets up fast. I think about that. There was also the game in 22 against the Cardinals where someone came over and just drilled him on a wide receiver screen and he pops up. ...

I think about 23, we threw a little screen to him on 3rd-and-14 in the San Francisco game, and he broke through three tackles and got a first down in it. We were struggling a little bit at the time, and it brought life. We didn't win that game, but it brought life to everybody.

He consistently does that and he keeps getting up, he keeps fighting and he delivers. I know he gets hit sometimes like that, but he delivers a lot of blows as well."

Smith said toughness isn't something he really thinks about because it's all he's ever known.

It's just how I play," he said. It's just like, Bleep, if you can walk, get your ass up.' That's just how it is for me.