“Long-Termism” Helps Wolfpack Smith-Williams Make Plays on and off Gridiron

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – N.C. State Wolfpack graduate defensive end James Smith-Williams is a master of an art that most people won’t grasp in their lifetime: thinking ahead. 

“I think that my mother did a great job,” Smith-Williams said when asked about thinking ahead.” She always instilled in me that whatever do, you should strive to be the best at it; but in the same breath, don’t shoe-horn yourself and put yourself in a bad position. So, always have the ability to have options. That’s been a big deal for me.” 

“Long-termism” is a word commonly used by investors, and simply means thinking toward the future, and it’s closely connected with “deductive reasoning”, using knowledge about things that are generally true in order to think about particular situations and problems. 

Here’s the truth.  

NFL football careers aren’t long, an average of 3.3 years, and Smith-Williams has caught the injury bug. He’s sat out a game the past two seasons, and suffered two season-ending injuries in 2016 and 2015. 

“Of course, I want to play every game,” Smith-Williams said. “You make the plays by being on the field in the first-place right. So I think for me, the injuries in the past have been injuries in the past. Obviously, I know what that means, so I strive to be as healthy as possible; because if you can’t play, you’re not you know … that’s been a big thing with injuries for me: avoiding them. But, I think when you lose the game, you get a little bit more respect for it; because you miss what it gave you. You might take it for granted.”

The Raleigh native’s prowess on the gridiron and high-achieving accolades off the field have been well documented. Smith-Williams ranked third on Bruce Feldman’s 2019 College Football Freak’s List and made Athlon’s third-team All-ACC roster. He organized a donation drive this spring to help a local organization that helps domestic violence survivors. Smith-Williams also interned with IBM in the summer of 2018; graduated that December with a degree in Business Supply Chain Management; and has already accepted a position with IBM once his football career ends.

Football is still important to him. Prolonging his career, and playing in the NFL are Smith-Williams’ primary goal. Moreover, he has high expectations for himself and teammates in his final collegiate season.

“I actually have a goal board,” Smith-Williams said. “I think it’s really important to write down your goals. So on the field you have things that are individually related: all-conference, All-American, 10 sacks, 50 (tackle for losses), stuff like that. But as a team, it’s win the ACC, national championship, to improve, not let the standard drop. And then in my own personal life, my faith is a big deal to me, so that’s something I want to keep in perspective. Also what I did this summer is say, ‘expectations is a huge deal for me,’ and I don’t want it to fall to the wayside. Personally, I have a little bit more goals, but they are more private to me, but it’s important to me to write them down and be cognizant of what you want to get done. “