FRISCO, Texas — Mazi Smith is finally getting his taste of the NFL lifestyle.
"I am just here to mind my business, get better as a player and be the best nose and d-tackle that the Cowboys can have," Smith said.
The East Kentwood High School grad is working out with the Cowboys with zero expectations. However, he knows one thing. Smith wants to make Dallas proud.
"They drafted me," Smith said. "They drafted me high. I don't want to let them down."
The Michigan man could have been drafted last season. Smith was projected to go in the later rounds in the 2022 draft, but he decided to bet on himself so he went back to school.
"I said that ain't what I wanted," Smith said. "That ain't the vision I saw for myself. So let me come back. I've got more to prove and I still got even more to prove."
That gamble paid off. He is now a first round pick taken 26th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. The 330-pound defensive tackle knew he was destined for more.
"This is why I worked," Smith said. "Sometimes you work and you don't know why. You don't know what is going to happen. You just gotta pray to God and hope and cross your fingers and hope. That's what I did. I am going to keep doing it. It ain't let me down yet."
That mentality has certainly worked for the former Wolverine. It also did the trick back when he was wearing his goggles as an East Kentwood Falcon. He plans on keeping that same mindset now as a Cowboy.
"I just got an expectation with who I am as a person, who I have been at every level of football that I have been a part of so far," Smith said. "I just want to reach that same standard and continue to be a great player."
Smith believes the potential for his greatness is through the roof.
"They ain't seen nothing," Smith said. "They ain't seen nothing yet."
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