Home Sweet Home: New Jersey Native Warren Smith Signs with Atlantic City
Harrison Brown
Tuesday March 19, 2019
Warren Smith can finally say that he’s staying home. It’s not that he’s going to be staying home from Lacey Township High School where he will still be Mr. Smith the P.E. teacher until late June. He certainly won’t be hitting the snooze button and staying home from his early morning classes as I happened to last week, but Smith will be able to stay at home during this Arena Football season. The gym teacher by day and quarterback by night was announced as the first player to be signed by the Atlantic City Blackjacks, a team located just 40 miles from his hometown of Forked River New Jersey.
“This is probably the best situation that could’ve happened for me having a team less than an hour away and at the highest level of arena football,” Smith said. “I really didn’t think there was ever going to be an AFL team in New Jersey, but once rumors came out that they were going to do it all I thought about was getting on board with these guys and working on my schedule to make things work,” Smith said.
Smith is an alumni of Lacey Township High School and was the star quarterback during his high school days. After a college career that lead him to the University of Maine and a brief stint professionally in Germany, Smith began a career playing arena football.
While Smith had been playing arena football since 2013, his first opportunity in the AFL came in 2015 with the now defunct Spokane Shock. Smith’s season caught the eye of many in the AFL, as he finished the year with 32 touchdowns and a 63.5% completion percentage. Smith was a serious contender for rookie of the year and he proved capable of being an AFL quarterback.
His success on the field wasn’t the only good thing in 2015 as he was offered a full-time teaching position at Lacey after previously being a substitute. In addition to the teaching position he’d continue to spend his falls as a coach on the school's football team which led to his current role as the varsity offensive coordinator.
The promotion meant that he couldn’t move anywhere for arena football, so he had to find a local organization to play for. Despite interest from AFL teams in other states Smith signed with the local Philadelphia Yellow Jackets of the AIF. After another dominant season, and after Lacey graduated it’s class of 2016 and closed its doors for the summer, Warren signed and finished the season with the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL.
In 2017 Smith signed with the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the NAL where he was named league MVP and threw for 56 touchdowns in only ten games. After the Steelhawks season, and once again not until another group of students graduated from Lacey and school had ended, Smith got another opportunity in the AFL with the Washington Valor.
During the final week of the 2017 regular season, the Valor decided it was time to mix things up offensively and they started Warren Smith in a game that had no impact on the final result of the season. Smith and company had one of the Valor’s best games of the season, winning and finishing the season on a high note. Smith’s leadership and talent was noticeable in that game and in every opportunity he’s gotten throughout his career.
After his impressive start in the final week of the regular season, the Valor welcomed Smith and his busy teaching schedule back with open arms and allowed him to teach and play the highest level of arena football at the same time. This did lead to a hectic travel schedule for Smith, which Lacey High School and the Valor accommodated in a variety of ways.
“I was lucky enough to have cool administration at school and they let me go to training camp for two weeks. I didn’t miss any school days in the beginning of the year and I saved all my days off for arena football camp,” Smith said.
“The first three or four weeks of the regular season when Nick Davila was the starter I would go to practice one day a week. I’d wake up at four in the morning, drive all the way to DC, practice, and then drive back and go to school for the rest of the week. I’d have multiple phone calls with Davila and Coach Dean Cokinos, then we’d have skype meetings at night about the game plan and practice. I’d be at my house doing my individual drills and practicing myself and during our lunch period I’d have a kid catch passes for me while I threw with pads on. It’s hard to just show up and be ready to go, you’ve got to stay fresh,” Smith said
The importance of working with Nick Davila, a three-time Arena Bowl champion as a starter in Arizona and future first ballot Hall of Famer was not lost on Smith last season. Many of the traits Davila showed in Washington Smith hopes to bring to Atlantic City.
“Working with Nick was probably the most beneficial thing I’ve ever done while playing arena football. Just watching how he conducts himself at practice and how he watches film whether he’s by himself or in team meetings. What I took from him the most was how he was a leader on and off the field, and how he got himself ready for games. He would have a checklist of every formation, every motion, what coverage to expect, and he’s played so long he has such a good eye and feel for it,” Smith said.
“A team could throw a coverage at him that we hadn’t seen in film and he would come off the field and tell us exactly what he saw. The way he got himself ready and the way he conducted himself as a leader was probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. At the end of the day he’s a football player though, he’s a dude, he likes to joke around and have fun, play video games or pool, and he’ll go out and have a drink with you, he’s down to earth like that,” Smith said.
After Davila went down with a season ending neck injury, Smith stepped in and took over the quarterback duties for a few games, throwing ten touchdowns to only two interceptions. Smith stayed on the roster all season but was delegated to the backup position again due to his schedule.
“I’ve gotta thank Ted Leonsis for everything because he’s the one who gave me the opportunity. Coach Cokinos as well, but Ted really is a professional through and through. Whether it’s the business side of it at Monumental Sports Entertainment or him owning an NHL and NBA team he knows how to run a professional organization, he’s a great guy. It was a pleasure playing for him and maybe one day we could work together again down the road. He’s very personable and very smart, and he takes care of his guys all the way from Alex Ovechkin to the backup quarterback of the Washington Valor,” Smith said.
No opportunity in the past compares to what Atlantic City presents for Smith though. While he’s had the opportunity to enter training camps as the starting quarterback in other leagues, he’s never been the starter heading into an AFL camp. He’s played close to home before, but both times were in other leagues and this is still the closest and best yet, being less than an hour away and on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.
“It’s exciting to know that you have a shot to be the guy and you get to take the bull by the horns right away. To be able to set the tone right away and lead the team the way you want to lead it. Every time I’ve had the chance to do that things have worked out pretty well. I’m excited to have the opportunity to lead the team, I want to lead by example on and off the field and put us in the best position to win football games,” Smith said.
“It’s pretty surreal to know that I’m going to be playing 40 minutes from my house, on the Jersey shore where I grew up as a child. A lot of my family and friends are going to be able to come out for the night and watch me play. For the last couple years, it’s been hard for people to drive three or four hours to watch me play arena football,” Smith said.
Another perk to joining the Blackjacks is Smith’s familiarity with the teams play caller, Shane Stafford. A former arena quarterback himself, Stafford was previously the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Storm and was hired by the Washington Valor midway through last season. Smith and Stafford got to know each other on both teams and have a good chemistry working together.
“Shane’s one of the most personable dudes I know, I got to work with him last year and also in 2016 with Tampa. Shane and I have been close for the last three years, and his mind for the game is similar to Davila’s. He wants to put the quarterback he has in the best situation at all times and he conducts himself like a true professional and that’s why the last two years he’s been in the Arena Bowl. He came into Washington last year when we had one win and helped turn us around and into a more efficient offense. And the most impressive thing was that it wasn’t even his offense,” Smith said.
While Smith has a long history with Stafford, the same can’t be said for his history with Head Coach Ron James. This will be Smith and James first time working together, but glowing reviews from players across the league have Smith excited to work with his new coach.
“All I’ve heard is great things, I have a lot of friends that have played for him and all they say is that he’s a player’s coach, he’s a great head coach and that he takes care of his guys. He’s very professional and a very good time management coach, and he’s there for his players, he wants the best for his guys. Hearing that from multiple guys I consider to be very reliable sources makes me very excited to say that I’m playing for him,” Smith said.
James and Stafford have the task at hand of building a competitive expansion team from day one. With the AFL free agency as open and competitive as it has been this year all six teams have an opportunity to build a competitive roster. “We’re excited to develop a good core that people trust and that can make the younger guys better by leading by example. I’m excited to be able to play with these guys and to get to camp and get to know them more and win football games and potentially a championship,” Smith said.
Smith’s schedule will continue to be a balancing act between finishing out another school year, while also preparing himself and beginning his journey as the Atlantic City Blackjacks starting quarterback. But if anyone can handle the busy schedule, Smith has proved over the last few years that he’s able to manage both.
“We’re still talking about it but I’ll be there for camp, then the first week of the regular season is our spring break, so I kind of get three weeks. After that it’s more touch and go, I think they’re going to move a practice or two a week, and they hold meetings in the afternoon so I can shoot down there, and we can meet. I’ll probably have to take a few days off school down the road,” Smith said.
While the AFL has only had one game in Atlantic City, the city is in store for a great product this season when New Jersey native Warren Smith makes his debut at the Boardwalk Hall, on a boardwalk he walked on as a child.
“They’re going to see a fast-paced entertaining football team that scores a lot of points, gets a lot of turnovers and a lot of big hits on defense, and a team that is very fan friendly. We want the fans to come and get to know us after the games and at our local events, because we want to do it for the state of New Jersey and the city of Atlantic City. I can’t wait to get involved with the youth programs and community around Atlantic City, but without the Jersey crew behind us we’re gonna be nothing, so we need all the fans and support we can get,” Smith said.
Harrison Brown is a college student who has been covering Arena Football since he was 12 years old and has been with ArenaFan since 2014. Harrison was a captain of the varsity football team during his senior year of high school and went on to play one season of Division III football in Massachusetts. Harrison has worked for two indoor football teams, in 2018 he was the Director of Player Personnel for the Jersey Flight and in 2016 he was the Color Commentator for the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets. You can follow Harrison on twitter @HarryBrownRusso.