Often at Holy Cross football practices, 5-year-old Calvin Smith watches intently in the bleachers as the Crusaders train — absorbing every ounce of joy and energy that exudes from Father Kuzniewski Field. After practice concludes, he heads to the field to join the offensive linemen in their post-practice stretching and to take a few practice snaps with his father. He’ll borrow his dad’s hat, practice plan and whistle, pretending that he, too, is a coach.

That was Chris Smith himself as a young child growing up in Buffalo, years before he attended Holy Cross and became a four-year starting center — and years before he became Holy Cross’ offensive coordinator entering the 2022 season. 

“The last picture I got was Calvin sitting behind a desk, pretending to be a coach and writing a game plan,” said Jerry Smith, Chris’ father and Calvin’s grandfather.

Jerry has worked at St. Francis High School, just outside of Buffalo, since 1981, and has been the head football coach there since 1988. Since birth, Chris was always around St. Francis’ practice and workout sessions, watching film with his dad, helping pass out water, interacting with the players on the team. 

“I was obsessed with it pretty early,” Chris said. 

Just two games into his first season as offensive coordinator with the Crusaders, Chris returns home. He’ll be welcomed at the University at Buffalo this Saturday by a sea of purple, a strong crew of supporters that made him who he is today. He’ll be back in the city and surrounded by the people that taught him many of his values. 

“There’s the friendship and loyalty that you have with the people all working toward a common goal,” Jerry said, when defining a Buffalo native. “You don't run across too many people that are arrogant, but you’re able to stand up for yourself. Everybody is down to earth, and if somebody needs help, you help them, without asking why.”

Few bleed purple as strongly as Chris does. And few wear their heart on their sleeve like Chris, and his father, do. For as excitedly as Chris talks about the game of football and Holy Cross, nothing brings him more joy to talk about than his family. All three overlap in so many ways — he met his wife, Natalie, while the two attended Holy Cross. Natalie, Calvin and three-year-old Nellie are Chris’ support network as he lives out his dream: coaching at his alma mater. Chris and his parents are constantly in touch, and the topic of conversation often ends up centered around football.

After all, it’s what he’s known since, quite literally, the day he was born.

“I was born at 7:30 in the morning,” Chris said, “and my dad had a game that afternoon.”

The elder Smith has coached generations of high school football players, including his son, and including NFL GMs, professional and other collegiate head coaches. He is one of the most universally respected football minds in the Buffalo area and has built a powerhouse program at St. Francis. (“How many people growing up see their dad on the cover of the Buffalo News all the time?” Chris notes). 

Jerry's deep compassion for other people far outweighs his accomplishments on the field, however.

“He's known all around Buffalo for being just an unbelievable guy, and helping out all these kids, and being super selfless,” Chris said. 

“It’s really cool to have generations of people that when you say something, everyone in the community associates you with that. St Francis Football: It's Jerry Smith who's running it. He's done everything above and beyond, and that dude works tirelessly. It’s a pretty cool way to live one’s life.”

As a student at St. Francis, Chris had the unique opportunity to see firsthand, every single day, the impact of his father, and he picked up much of what he knows from those hours spent together.

“Playing for your dad — the first two years, when you're a freshman and sophomore, when you wake up and he drives you to school, you see him in class, you see him during lunch,” Chris said. “And then at practice, he's your coach, and then you ride back with him afterwards. And then he's at home. 

“The first two years when you're blowing assignments, not as fun,” he says with a laugh. “The last few years though, it's really, really cool.”

“They never really realized that I was working,” Jerry said. “I was just going to school, and still, to this day, I go to school. I don't go to work. It’s what my wife and I have always preached to him: If you find something you love, you never work a day in your life.”

Three current Crusader student-athletes played under Jerry at St. Francis: junior offensive lineman Eric Schon, senior wide receiver Dominik Thomas and freshman cornerback Tommy Bestpitch. Bestpitch’s father, Tom, is a 2000 graduate of Holy Cross; numerous other Crusaders have arrived on The Hill via St. Francis. 

“Both of them are great minds of the game and both of them put so much hard work and preparation into game days,” Schon said, when comparing the two Coach Smiths. “Being able to learn from both of them has been a great experience throughout my career.”

Schon quips: “Coach Smith’s dad still has the edge on him with game day fire, though.”

“We're both loud, very loud,” Chris admits.

Of course, the similarities between the two Coach Smiths extend far beyond that.

“We pay attention to detail, we have a good feel for the players,” Jerry said. “For myself, I treat all my players like they are my sons. I have all Chrises and Joeys and Laurens.”

And for Chris, his players are all Calvins and Nellies.

“The more I've come to practice and watched him and watched his interaction with the players, I see how much he genuinely cares about these young men,” Jerry added. “In order to do that, that means you have to put yourself out there, and you have to show who you really are.”

Just as Chris learned these values growing up around football, Jerry is confident that Calvin and Nellie will learn the same morals as Chris and his siblings did.

“Kids are sponges,” Jerry said. “That first five years, six years, they absorb everything, and they're going to remember it. Calvin might not remember exactly where it came from, but that's where it comes from — those decisions later on in life about what's right, what's wrong, what matters to you.

“Growing up, our emphasis was always on giving,” he adds. “And that's what that's what Calvin is going to see, that’s what Nellie's seeing when she's there: They see you being who you really are to these guys, and they see the respect that the kids give you back, and how you treat everyone with respect. They see how things are supposed to be done the right way, they absorb that. And I know Chris did that, too. I'm very, very grateful and blessed for that situation.”

Jerry heads to Long Island Friday night for his team’s season opener at Kellenberg Memorial (where current Crusader quarterback Matthew Sluka played his high school football); he anticipates that he’ll end up home around 5 a.m. He might take a quick nap, but he’ll be ready to go for the Crusaders’ showdown with the Bulls at 6 p.m. on Saturday — beaming with pride as he watches his son continue to live out his dreams.

“A guy from St. Francis High School goes to Holy Cross, with the camaraderie that came about from it, and to have the success that he did there, to meet his wife at Holy Cross, and now some of his greatest successes in coaching have been at Holy Cross,” Jerry said, “you just can’t put a price tag on stuff like that. You really can't.”

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