University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
Renaissance Man
November 04, 2017 | Football
By Katie Ryan
Assistant Sports Information Director
He has a fascination with the art of winemaking. He aspires to attend firefighting school with the hope of saving lives and giving back to his community. He also has the ability to make 16 tackles in one football game. Is he the most interesting man in the world?Â
He may be, but around USC, he is simply known as Cameron Smith. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior middle linebacker has collected 223 tackles, 14.5 for loss, four interceptions and a touchdown throughout his almost three-year career as a starter. Smith, who attended Granite Bay High and is from Roseville, Calif., may shine brightest under the Coliseum lights, he has a wide variety of interests that extend beyond the football field.Â
Smith won't turn 21 until March of 2018, but he already has a unique passion for winemaking.Â
"Last winter, I started noticing different wine glasses and wondering more about wine itself," he said. "I always wanted to be able to sit at a table with people and intelligently pick out a bottle. I wanted to have knowledge about different wines or a specific winery and be able to share it with other people."Â
Smith's curiosity piqued when he discovered an opportunity to learn more about his growing interest. During the summer of 2017, he was able to intern at the Melville Winery in Lompoc, Calif., under the tutelage of head winegrower, Chad Melville.Â
"It was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had," Smith said. "I've never had the time to work before because of football, and Chad was such an incredible first boss. I learned so much about myself and I really grew as a person. It was a blast."Â
Throughout the internship, Smith was able to observe and participate in the different facets of the winemaking industry including viticulture (grape growing), enology (the science of winemaking) and the wine business.Â
"If I could do anything, I would want to own my own vineyard," he said. "The farming part of it is what is really interesting to me. The cellar work is fascinating too. Being in a cellar is something most people do not get to experience. It takes three years to grow grapes to make a bottle of wine. To see all of the hard work come together in a finished product is so cool. There's so much time and effort that goes into the process."Â
In the future, Smith would like to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study the university's renowned wine and viticulture masters program.Â
In every aspect of his life, Smith wants to be the best. Although he does not want to pursue a career in wine service, Smith would like to become a sommelier to have the most extensive knowledge in all aspects of wine.Â
"I would like to take the beginner sommelier test for another notch in my belt," said Smith. "Maybe if I had enough time and had the opportunity, I could pass the master sommelier test. I don't want to do it as a job, but just to say I know everything about wine would be pretty cool."Â
Smith's sophisticated interest in winemaking juxtaposes intriguingly with a newfound passion of his: firefighting.Â
"I want to start going to fire school in the off-seasons to get my certifications done wherever I end up playing football," he said. "I think it's become a passion for me and a real fascination. It's almost like an obsession."Â
Through firefighting, USC's football captain believes that he can still be a member of a team, even when his football career comes to a close.Â
"I would love to be the captain of a firehouse," said Smith. "In a firehouse, you still get that camaraderie and that brotherhood. You still get that adrenaline like in football. I feel like I could never just sit at a desk in a suit because I would miss so much of what football has brought me.Â
"Firefighting makes sense as a next chapter for me. I think it's where I'm supposed to be: saving people's lives and helping out the community. It's something that excites me."Â
Smith has many aspirations and dreams, but there is one goal that he has been in pursuit of for years: becoming a professional football player.Â
"I grew up a 49ers fan," he said. "My friends from home and I talk about how it's fun to hope that someday I might play for them or against them. We talk about how cool it would be."Â
Smith has always believed this dream was possible, but he has never become complacent.Â
"You have to believe you're good enough or I don't think you're going to make it," said Smith. "You have to be confident in yourself. However, I think it's important to be humble. There's always someone that is going to be better than you. That drives me.Â
"I hate the feeling of someone being better than me. I feel like I always have to push myself and make every play because there's someone out there who's trying to do the same thing. I always want to be striving to get better, and I think that's what eventually will push me to where I want to be."Â
Smith led USC with 83 tackles as a sophomore and is well on his way to doing it again as a junior with a team-best 72 stops as a junior. As a veteran and team captain, Smith leads the younger group of Trojans by being a great role model.Â
"I try to do the right things so they see me do it and want to do it too," he said. "I always want the young guys to be the best they can possibly be, and I'll do anything I can to help them get there. Currently, I think I have a really good grasp of the defense. If someone has a question for me, I can help.Â
"Last year, I had Mike Hutchings there for me. I saw him talk to other guys and help them with the defense. I've taken pieces from leaders that I've seen and tried to emulate them. I want to be a leader to the younger guys just as people like Mike were leaders for me."Â
He reminds his young teammates to embrace the moment, because their college football experience goes by quicker than expected.Â
"I remember (former USC linebacker) Quinton Powell saying, 'Don't blink. It's going to go by really fast.' I thought, 'There's no way. This is going to be so slow.' Now I'm the guy telling freshman Jack Sears, 'Dude, don't blink. It's going to go by really fast.' "Â
Through playing the sport he loves, Smith will be checking off another dream from his bucket list this spring: graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in communication.Â
"Graduating in three years was important to me and something I wanted to achieve," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without football. Just being able to say you graduated from USC is above anything else. It opens so many doors."Â
It appears Smith will have plenty of doors to choose from. Whether he's playing football on Sundays, or saving someone from a burning building, or savoring a reserve wine from his vineyard, there is no doubt that Smith's life will continue to remain interesting.
