Akili Smith Interview
Legendary Oregon Football quarterback Akili Smith discusses Oregon's move to the Big Ten.
Transcript
00:00 Max Torres with Ducks Digest here at Lincoln High School in San Diego, California,
00:05 talking with Duck legend A'Kili Smith.
00:08 Great to see you, A'Kili.
00:09 Just wanted to kind of get some of your thoughts on Oregon's move to the Big Ten,
00:13 seeing that you're a former player.
00:15 Well, when we first got the announcement, I'm not going to lie,
00:18 I was a little disappointed because of the history of the Pac-8, the Pac-10, and the Pac-12.
00:24 You know, for those of us that played in it, that's like home for us.
00:28 So when the announcement came, I was a little bit down,
00:30 but at the end of the day, you know, it is about the bottom line.
00:34 Kids are starting to get paid, coaches are starting to get more money.
00:37 If we need to go out there so that the TV contracts can be bigger than what the Pac-12 was offering,
00:43 then we need to do that so that everybody can be happy.
00:47 And obviously your son, A'Kili Jr., is going to be a Duck himself,
00:51 announcing his commitment recently.
00:54 Just what is it like knowing that your son is going to be able to follow in your footsteps, Eugene?
00:59 It's big. It's an honor.
01:01 There's not a lot of humans on planet Earth that have that opportunity.
01:04 And when he said it, I kind of stepped back a little bit.
01:07 I was shocked a little bit because on some of my tweets, I've been putting the process,
01:12 because I wanted to go through it and have him go through it and enjoy the process.
01:16 But he's a different type of kid.
01:19 As we started getting closer to the season, he was ready to settle in and lock into the season.
01:24 And he's been going to Oregon games since he was six, seven years old.
01:27 He said Oregon when he was born.
01:29 So it all felt right when we was out there and had that opportunity to see Dan Lanning and Will and the guys.
01:35 Last one I had for you, what was it like just navigating the process with him?
01:39 Because, you know, it's a unique experience for you.
01:42 Yeah, to be on the other side of it as a dad is completely different than just being a coach.
01:48 Obviously, I've been doing it as a coach for many, many years.
01:51 But to do it as a dad, to see him going through it, it was quite different.
01:55 And I plan on having some conversations, stuff like that, with parents who need some help with going through the process
02:01 because things are changing, especially with the social media component now.
02:06 So it was fun to go through it.
02:08 Obviously, we still have a long way to go.
02:11 I tell him that all the time.
02:12 You're only a junior.
02:13 Hopefully, we only got a year and a half left.
02:15 I want him to graduate early so that he can be ready for the spring ball.
02:18 But we got to stay locked in and we got to be ready to go.
02:21 All right. Thanks for the time.
02:23 All right. Thank you.