Dave Smith and Byron Honore Saluki Hall of Fame induction speeches
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Saluki Athletics inducted two Saluki Football alums into the Hall of Fame last Friday night, offensive linemen Dave Smith and Byron Honore. Here are excerpts from their induction speeches. Saluki Hall of Famer and teammate Oyd Craddock spoke on behalf of Honore, who passed away in 2022.
Dave Smith, Offensive line (1984-87)
On how he got to SIU
“Coach (Rey) Dempsey sometimes wasn’t able to see you play football, but he sent (SIU assistant coach) Dave McMichael to watch me play basketball. We beat Bremen High School to go to state, and our teammates were in there celebrating, and Dave came up to me and said, ‘I’d like to offer you a scholarship to SIU.’ I was undersized, I only weighed 215 pounds. That's why nobody wanted me. Dave saw something. I was an athlete and he knew that. That was something he couldn't teach, but they could put the weight on.”
On Coach Rey Dempsey
“Coach Dempsey changed my life. He changed the life for the positive of every person that he touched, because he loved and cared to help people, and he wanted the best for them. He wanted them to excel on the field, but he also wanted them to excel and be a positive person off the field. Coach Dempsey, I'm grateful for you.”
“Coach Dempsey said to me, ‘If you want a good wife, you better pray for her.’ And I thought he was crazy. Why would God care about who I married? I prayed for Kathy. I was going back to my dorm room, Mae Smith, and she was going the other way, a cute little girl with a twinkle in her eye, and the rest is history.”
On his teammates
“GK Chesterton says, ‘The true soldier fights, not because of the fear or the hate of the person that's in front of him, but because of the love for the man behind him.’ We had love. There was a love between all of us. I walked in that huddle, and no matter who was in at quarterback, we looked at each other in the eye, and you knew you weren't gonna let the other person down. You were not gonna let that other person down because you loved that person.”
The great number of text messages and phone calls that I got from people who congratulated me is just overwhelming. So I'm grateful to my teammates who are here tonight. People taking time out of their lives to come and celebrate, I appreciate that.”
On his faith in God
“My cup overflows. It’s because of His blessings that he’s bestowed upon my life that I stand here today, and I'm grateful for the victory that I have through our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”
Byron Honore (1976-79)
Oyd Craddock spoke on Byron’s behalf
On how Byron got to SIU
"When Coach Rey Dempsey recruited seven players from St. Augustine High School in Louisiana, he signed four of us on National Signing Day, but he didn't sign Byron. He wasn't sure if his size would translate to Division I college football. So he came days after National Signing Day, to kind of keep eyes on Byron and see the person. Byron was a two-sport athlete in high school. He played baseball and football.
So Coach Dempsey comes with an assistant coach and Byron has a (baseball) game, so they actually go see him at the game. When Coach Dempsey and Coach (Rich) Solomon were walking in, Byron saw them. He gets a base hit, takes off, he's rounding second and does a stand-up slide into third. He knows Coach Dempsey was looking, right? Seeing Byron run that way, Coach Dempsey saw his pulling-guard and he knew it would serve SIU for many years."
On Byron’s ability
"Byron was a unique talent as an offensive lineman. He was undersized, because he was only 5-10. I don't think he played at bigger than 230 (pounds) or so, but he was so athletic. He played during an era when offensive linemen couldn't extend and use their hands, so you had to have great legs, and footwork, and balance, to move people. Every type of block — trap-block, pulling-guard, pass-protection, he could do it because he was so athletic."
On Byron’s mindset
"Byron had a mindset that inspired all of us on the team. Now, that mindset that he had, it included playing with bad intentions. Byron played with bad intentions. And he was known to talk to his opponents while he delivered those bad intentions. Now, don't confuse bad intentions with playing dirty, because he didn't play dirty. He played with the toughness and focus that the Ray Dempsey program demanded of all of us."
On their lifelong friendship
"He was so much more to me than a Saluki teammate. Byron and I met as little kids, five-year-olds, because our mothers knew each other. His mother, who is sitting over there, her first name is Lois, but she’s Mama Lois to me. I was raised under my mom, and she and others in our community. Byron and I were high school teammates. We became college teammates. We both achieved our bachelor's degree from SIU. When my pretty girlfriend and I got married, Byron was a groomsman in our wedding, and when we had our first kid, he's the godfather of my first boy. And now we're gonna be in the Hall of Fame together."
On Byron’s love for SIU
"He loved SIU and the SIU experience. He loved meeting people in the Midwest. We’re from the deep south, we’re from the city of New Orleans, inner-city New Orleans, so just coming here to meet new people was great for Byron and he loved it. He loved this beautiful campus, the climate here. He even loved Schneider Hall. We lived in Schneider four years. You know that takes love, right, to live in Schneider all 4 years (laughs). We loved it, and we did that because we loved being with each other every day. We walked the campus, proudly displaying our brotherhood, our love for each other and our New Orleans culture.
The final point I want you to know is that Byron loved and appreciated what SIU did for his life. And today, he can rest knowing that SIU appreciates him."
Great article about great Salukis!!