Faith, family and football are the inspiration for Saluki O-lineman Coleon Smith
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois offensive tackle Coleon Smith has experienced his share of hard times, including the loss of loved ones, but faith, family and football have always been there to see him through.
Born in metropolitan Detroit, Smith’s parents separated when he was three. Much of his childhood was spent at his grandmother’s house, along with his cousins, while his mom worked at Ford Motor Company. Money was tight.
“There was a lot of love, but we had to share everything and find a way to make something out of nothing,” he said.
There were occasional rays of hope. His father, Leonard, came home one day with a pair of tickets for them to attend Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
“That's one of my favorite memories of all time,” Smith smiled. “Just being able to experience a Super Bowl with him.”
Football became Smith’s passion. He’d stay up late to watch games with his dad. By age 8, Smith started playing football himself.
But then his father ended up in prison, and by the time he was released, he had developed diabetes, which later led to kidney failure and paralysis.
“He had taught me how to be a man, but then I had to learn how to take care of him,” Smith winced.
When Smith was a sophomore at Belleville High School (MI), his father died at age 43.
“It was super-painful for me because I was never able to fully have that relationship with my father and get to know him as an adult,” Smith explained. “The biggest thing that got me through it was my faith and this sport of football.”
He continued, “After my father had passed on a Friday, I was right back in the weight room the next Monday. I really wasn't talkative, but just knowing that I had the support from the guys, I was able to let my anger and feelings out on the field.”
Smith credits both his step-father and one of his high school coaches, NFL alum Will Campbell, for mentoring him after losing his dad.
By his junior year, Smith’s football career had yet to take off, because he sat behind Devontae Dobbs, who was ranked the No. 9 overall recruit in the country and later went on to play at Michigan State. There was a silver-lining, though.
“Sitting behind him shaped the way I thought about the game,” Smith said. “He was talking to all these bigger schools and going to all these prospect camps and bringing back techniques. That definitely helped me, but during my junior year, I really started to see that I could do it myself.”
Standing 6-foot-6 and nearly 300 pounds, Smith was rated one of the top linemen in the state after his senior season and committed to Big Ten Indiana during the summer of 2019.
Things didn’t go as planned on National Signing Day that November, however. When Smith tried to submit his signing paperwork, he never got a response back from the Hoosiers. They ghosted him.
“That was a gut-punch for me,” Smith admitted. “I had about a dozen offers from other schools that I turned down because I was full set on Indiana.”
Smith ended up signing with Eastern Michigan, which had just hired Mike Piatkowski off Indiana’s staff to be their quarterbacks coach. Smith spent two seasons playing for the Eagles, including a bowl campaign in 2021.
“Eastern Michigan was a growing experience for me,” Smith said. “My first year was the COVID season. In summer workouts with masks on, guys were bringing benches and barbells outside.”
Smith transferred to SIU for the 2022 season and gradually worked his way up the depth chart. Then he tore the MCL in his right knee against SEMO in 2024 and needed reconstructive surgery.
Smith bounced back to win the starting right tackle job in 2025, but re-injured the knee in the fourth game and missed the rest of the season. Because of the back-to-back season-ending injuries, he could petition the NCAA for another year of eligibility, but it wasn’t an easy decision to come back.
“I did have a little conflict, not knowing where I wanted to be in life toward the end of the 2025 season,” he said. “I had already graduated and we have a bunch of guys that are ready to go and play right now, as you can see this year. What brought me back was just that child in me that really loved the game. I worked for this my whole life. I sat behind guys in high school and college, and that definitely drove me to want to go get that starting job.”
Smith won the job and has started all 10 games at right tackle this season for the Salukis. He prides himself on detailed game prep and goes so far as to chart an opposing defensive lineman’s favorite moves.
“I want to know what things they’re good at, what they're not good at,” he described. “That really helps me narrow it down by the end of the week.”
Known as a one of the team’s quiet leaders, he explained, “we have a lot of guys here that really don't have to say much, but they do what they're supposed to do.”
Today is Veterans Day, which has special meaning for Smith, because one year ago he lost his aunt, Michelle Grace, a decorated United States Air Force veteran, who at one time held the highest security clearance at the Pentagon.
“She passed from brain cancer right before training camp in 2025,” Smith said. “She’s the only person in my family who served in the military, and as I grew up, it made me proud to learn about what she did for our country. She was a leader to the whole family and a strong role model with how she went about life. She was a very hard-working woman who worked her way to the top of her profession.”
Grace’s life became the inspiration for Michelle's Legacy Housing & Hope Organization, which Smith co-founded with his mother, Akoswa Cook-Coward. Its mission is to build safe, stable and affordable housing, with particular attention to veterans and others who need a warm bed and a pathway to stability.
Smith is also active in the southern Illinois community, where on his last birthday, he led a team initiative to support a local homeless shelter, the Carbondale Warming Center.
“Coming from poverty as a kid, it feels like the right thing to do,” he explained. “Before Thanksgiving, we'll try to do another one as a team to support the community.”
Smith, who plans a career in sports public relations, said he has learned two key lessons from his time with Saluki Football.
“First, never be comfortable where your feet are, to where you stop working,” he said. “I had to sit behind people even in high school. Second, know that you are always more valuable than what you're producing. Your value doesn't just come from what you produce. You're valuable, regardless of what you do, in God's eyes.”
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