Michigan DT Mazi Smith reacts to being named team captain: 'It just feels good'
Michigan Wolverines football senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith was selected as one of five team captains for the 2022 season. He joins three classmates — quarterback Cade McNamara, tight end Erick All and defensive back/wide receiver Mike Sainristil — and graduate wide receiver Ronnie Bell.
While Smith has always led in his own way — usually by example, working hard behind the scenes before breaking out last season, when he notched 37 tackles (2.5 for loss). But he didn’t come into the Michigan program expecting to be a captain. He didn’t even come into this fall camp, as a senior, thinking about the possibility.
“Great, man,” Smith said of how it feels to be honored by his teammates. “I’ve been having to do a little bit more with people having their eyes on me and being somebody who’s noticeable and I just appreciate that people see what I’m trying to do and respect it. It just feels good to be appreciated and respected.
“I didn’t start thinking about being a captain until people brought it up to me, which was like two weeks ago. I thought, oh, that’d be cool.”
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Appreciated and respected … it’s clear, based on comments from Michigan coaches and players, that Smith has his grip on the Wolverines’ team. As eighth-year head coach Jim Harbaugh has said, players lean in to listen to what Smith, who’s wise beyond his years, has to say.
It’s no surprise the Michigan team room was filled with excitement when his name was read off as a captain and he made his way to the front to deliver a brief message.
“Just heard a lot of claps and a lot of excitement,” Smith said of the moments after being named a Michigan captain. “‘Big Maz! Your tee shirt is too small!’
“Me personally, I didn’t know. Going into it, I was like, ‘If I’m a captain, that’d be great, but if I’m not, I’m gonna keep doing me, keep doing the same thing.’ And I had talked to Coach Harbaugh about that, just being yourself — forever, not changing for nothing. That’s what they got in a captain. I’m just glad they mess with me.”
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This summer has been a big one for Smith. He went to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, with a group of Big Ten student athletes for a “transformational educational experience.” He and the Michigan team helped inmates at the Genesee County jail in late July, just before heading off to Indianapolis as one of four Wolverines to represent the squad at Big Ten Media Days.
“The opportunities God has given me throughout my time here has been tremendous,” Smith said. It’s things I would have imagined, experiences I never would’ve or could’ve dreamed of. I always say to myself, ‘God has never steered me wrong; why would he now?’ I always just put my trust and faith in Him.”
When asked if it’s ‘go time’ now and if playing the games are the only things left to do, with the season quickly approaching, Smith said he’s keeping a steady mindset.
“That’s always the only thing left to do,” Smith quipped. “I feel like people get it twisted when it’s time to go and when it ain’t. It’s always time to go. Always.
“I kinda gotta contain that excitement, and then I’ll let it flow game day. Don’t want to get ahead of yourself; that’s how you make yourself trip up, fumble.”
