In 1973, the Denver Broncos used their 319th pick in the 13th round of the NFL Draft to select the first Bahamian pro football player Ed Smith. His son Alex Smith is now the starting tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In speaking with the younger Smith, he said that he's been connecting with more native Bahamians in the NFL, and that they've been considering forming an association of their own.
"You know, we're in the beginning stages of that," Smith said. "I was able to have Terrence Millman in my summer camp last year, and I talked to Devard (Darling) about the possibilities of me going to his, and him showing-up in mine as well. So, we're definitely in the beginning stages of having guys come down here like that, having camps in The Bahamas, and also having the Bahamian players here. So, things are definitely in the works. We're just tryin' to bring this exposure out to The Bahamas, and it has to be a collective effort," Smith pointed out.
Earlier this year in March, Devard Darling was in town for the first hosting of his cousin Frank Rutherford's National Youth Combine. It was during that time when he also first mentioned the effort to link Bahamian NFL players. In recent conversations with Darling, he said that he too have been surprised to find out how many NFL players are either Bahamian or of decent.
"Well, in college I came across a lot of guys that were Bahamian, but when I got into the NFL and started meeting guys from home there too, I was like wow - our little country really doing some big things man. And it's always good - when your abroad - to be meet people who can easily identify with you. Even if they weren't from The Bahamas, maybe from somewhere else like Jamaica, or Trinidad or something, it was still cool when you linked-up with these people."
Other NFL players known to have Bahamian-ties are New York Jets D'Brickashaw Forbes, Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor and teammate Santana Moss, Darling's Baltimore Ravens teammate Samari Rolle, and Carolina Panthers safety Nate Salley. Each of the names just mentioned are also impact players on their respective teams. Smith has had a better start to his career than Darling, who was sidelined by hamstring problems for his first two years in the NFL. Smith on the other hand, caught two touchdown passes in his rookie debut.
As more Division-1 colleges in the United States are now heavily recruiting Bahamians, there are more to be drafted into the NFL. Rutherford says that there are some attributes Bahamian athletes seem to have, that allows them to excel in a sport that they rarely play on home soil. "We've got kids here, especially those on the Family islands, who people look at as fat, or big and awkward, but those are just the kind of kids that US college coaches are looking for - these kids with seemingly freakish physical stature." What Rutherford also highlighted about Bahamian athletes is that, "they're coachable, and they listen to what they're being told. The average US athlete, especially if he's good, has some kind of an attitude. A lot of times, you have to be a little cocky to get ahead over here, or else you'll get crushed by your competition. But for some reason, the Bahamian athlete is able to excel and remain humble at the same time."
