Super Bowl: Donovan Smith feels familiar vibes with Kansas City

LAS VEGAS — When free agent tackle Donovan Smith went to visit Kansas City in the spring after eight seasons with Tampa Bay, he was looking for a sign that it could become his new home. It had a lot of the amenities he was looking for — a Hall of Fame coach, a young Hall of Fame quarterback, a winning culture that included the most recent Super Bowl, and an obvious interest in him — but he wanted what he called “a feel” before agreeing to a contract.

Then he met the team’s director of pro personnel.

Tim Terry, like Smith, grew up in Hempstead. While Terry had long had his eye on Smith and followed his career — both as a fellow Long Islander and as part of his job — Smith didn’t know about Terry or their shared background. They had never met until that day in May.

Smith wanted Kansas City to feel like home. This was about as home as he could find.

“Once I found out he was from Hempstead I called all my people and everybody knew everybody,” Smith told Newsday on Wednesday. “We chopped it up a little bit. I called my uncle and everybody and they knew who each other was. It was cool.”

They grew up about two miles and two decades apart from each other. Smith, now 30, was writing poems about his dreams of reaching the NFL in third grade at Rhodes Elementary School (he still has a picture of that project from Mrs. Amos’ class) and out playing on Wellington Street where he lived until after his freshman year at Hempstead High (he and his twin sister then moved to live with an uncle in Baltimore). Terry, 49, and his brother, Reggie, were both multi-sport athletes over across Hempstead Turnpike on South Franklin Street. Terry went on to Temple University, played a bit in the NFL, and has become one of the more dependable eyes for talent in the Kansas City organization. He’s been with them since 2017.

And now, nine months after they first spoke, rekindled those memories, and explored their connections with each other, the two of them, already with four combined Super Bowl championships from previous seasons and teams, are here in Las Vegas hoping to win two more rings. This time together… and for the neighborhood from which they hail.

“Everything that happens throughout the year is what prepared us for where we have been this whole playoff run,” Terry told Newsday, and included the signing of Smith among those many pivot points. “Hopefully we can finish the deal this weekend.”

Although it took a while to grow accustomed to the new offensive system and, in particular, after having blocked for Tom Brady for three seasons, a mobile quarterback who can scramble any-which-way on any given play, Smith fit in easily with the team itself. He instantly became one of its leaders and elders. It helped that he had the credibility of a Super Bowl championship that he won three years ago against many of his current teammates, but his personality made more of an impression that that awkward boast.

“He brings a lot of energy,” guard Joe Thuney, who lines up next to Smith, said of his wingman. “We’d always be bouncing ideas off each other, talking back and forth. He knows the game really well. And he’s a positive guy. He is always very positive. I can’t say enough good things about Donovan.”

Smith even became one of the handful of players who rotate as the official DJ of the locker room, choosing the music that the team listens to. It’s a job that he shares with others who have been with the organization for a while, but he managed to crack the rotation in his first few weeks with the team.

“Music definitely powers me in a lot of things,” Smith said. “I just like to bring that vibe. It’s always a good thing when you can control the vibe of the guys with the music that you play. You just have to start them off right.”

He described his tastes as “all over” with “a little hip-hop, a little techno, a little R&B.” He said he likes to start the day with “a nice pump-me-up song” and then once practice begins transition to “solid gold oldies.”

“If you are in a soulful, happy-go-lucky mood, he’s a 10,” defensive end Chris Jones said of Smith’s song lists.

His choices also have a decidedly New York lilt to them.

“He knows what he’s talking about,” rookie lineman Wanya Morris said. “My mother is from New York so I’ve got a lot of the same tastes. I really like up north music. As a kid I really rocked with Biggie, so, we easily fall into the same category.”

Smith may help provide the soundtrack, but Terry is part of the architectural team that, led by general manager Brett Veach, has built Kansas City into a perennial title contender. He’s also become one of the voices of calm experience in the organization, something that came in handy this season in particular as Kansas City struggled through some difficult times and uncharacteristic losses.

“I was telling the guys this year when things were going up and down, ‘It’s the journey that makes the destination much sweeter,’” Terry said. “We’ve been fortunate to learn throughout the year, learn throughout the offseason, have some ups and downs, and that’s the part that gives us much more gratitude and be humbled about where we are today, what we are potentially able to do this weekend.”

That wisdom comes from nearly 30 years in pro football.

“I think you understand the process of not only the season but the league,” Terry said. “You can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. You have to stay pretty even. Obviously I hate losing and I hate when we don’t achieve our goals, but you can’t let that dictate what you do next. You can always take a loss or a success and try to build off it. And now we’re in the home stretch.”

Home, for the two with shared roots, being the very same place.

“Donovan is one of my favorite guys,” Terry said. “it’s always good to have a fellow Long Islander around, another Hempstead guy.”

Added Smith on their relationship and quest on Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII: “Strong Island is out here representin’!”