alumni Class Notes Going into my junior year, I got up to 275 pounds and my 40-


yard dash time dropped from 4.9 to 4.8. During spring football, the starting off ensive tackle blew out his knee and I stepped in— this time I was ready. I played the rest of the season and by the end of the year, I was get ing let ers of interest from a ton of NFL teams. Entering senior year, I was made co-captain and everything


was set. T e team was ready for a great year and I was ready to take the next step.


T


hen, two days before our fi rst game against Youngstown State, we were in shorts and shoulder pads. I remember the


Oakland Raider scouts being at practice. I was pass blocking when the “pile” hit my leſt leg and I went down. I looked down and my kneecap was on the side of my leg. T e trainers rushed over, put it back into place and took me to the hospital. I have to tell you, that was probably was one of the worst


feelings I’ve ever experienced. Not the pain, that’s nothing. But knowing that your football career could be over. Everything you’ve worked for, gone in a second, in one play. It’s something that bothers me even now. T e next day I met with the coaches and team doctor. T ey


gave me two options. Have surgery to realign the kneecap or play through the pain, knowing my kneecap would continue to dislocate. Without hesitation, I chose to play through the pain. I came back the next game against Marshall and had a great game until my knee dislocated two more times. I continued to play the rest of the season, each time fi ghting through the pain as my knee continued to dislocate. Aſt er the season, I had my knee operated on. T e good thing


was that NFL teams were still interested. T e bad thing was that my kneecap was not aligned correctly. Bending the knee caused the kneecap to grind onto the bone and I’d lose power in my leg, but that just meant I had to work harder. T e night aſt er the NFL draſt , I got a knock on my apartment door. It was a scout from the Dallas Cowboys; they wanted me as a free agent. My NFL career was very short. I got there and was doing well,


but then I tweaked my knee again. I soon got that dreaded call to bring my playbook to coach Tom Landry’s offi ce. He told me that my knee wouldn’t make it through the season and they were going to release me. I wish I could say that I happily carried on with my life, but


that wasn’t the case. I was pret y depressed and felt lost. T is went on for months until I got a call from my parents who pushed me to move on. So I regrouped, got focused and fi nished my degree


42 Eastern | SPRING 2013


in Computer-Aided Design at EMU. Aſt er graduation, I moved to San Diego. A friend of mine had


an audition in L.A. for a movie called “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: T e Dream Child” and he wanted me to come along to check it out. At the audition, the casting director asked if I wanted to audition as well and I reluctantly agreed—I ended up get ing the part of “Super Freddy,” playing a bigger version of Freddy Krueger. T at role was an incredible experience, and it was right then that I decided to become an actor. Now, more than 20 years later, I’m still doing it. I owe a lot of what I’m doing today to playing football at


Eastern. I’ve been down to my last 20 bucks, sit ing on the curb with everything I own stuff ed in my car, having just got kicked out of some crazy chick’s apartment, wondering what to do next. But, just like playing football, I never thought about quit ing. And, just like in football at Eastern, I haven’t let the rejection and toughness of trying to make it in Hollywood stop me. 3


THE ACTOR After starting his career playing Super Freddy in “A


Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child,” Michael Bailey Smith got the acting bug. He has since been in nearly 50 fi lms and over 100 episodes of TV. You might recognize him from one of his many roles, including those in:


The Hills Have Eyes I & II Southland Charmed House


Two and a Half Men Men in Black II Blood Shot


Days of Our Lives My Name is Earl The O.C.


Grounded for Life


Malcolm in the Middle Buff y the Vampire Slayer The X-Files


Star Trek: Voyager Family Matters


The Drew Carey Show Babylon 5


… to name a few.


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