High school athletes around the country recently signed their national letters of intent to play at the collegiate level.
Cleveland Heights High School's Tyreke Smith was one of these athletes on National Signing Day, signing a letter of intent to play football for Ohio State University.
Smith is one of the top players in the nation, and while the focus was on him, his talent and where he would choose to play, he said signing day was not about him. For Smith, this was a celebration for his family.
"It feels good that they feel like they did something right and they did something with me," Smith said. "So that's a really good feeling to have."
"It means a lot, because me and my husband put everything into our kids," his mother, Michelle Smith, said. "I think this is God's way of blessing us."
Smith's football dreams almost came to an end in sixth grade.
"I stopped playing cause I had concussions. I had like four concussions in like one year," Smith said. "I wasn't doing good. I had headaches"
After some encouragement from coaches and his parents' blessing, Smith picked football back up in his junior year of high school. As soon as he started back up, colleges took notice.
"I had about 13 offers before I even played," he said with a smile. "That's when I knew I had to keep working out for football and sticking with football."
It came down to Ohio State and Penn State, but in the end, the Buckeyes won out.
With the decision made and his letter signed, Smith said his family's support is sending him to Ohio State.
"My family watching me sign, being able to sign with my mom and dad helping me with everything, paying for me to go places," he said with great appreciation. "They did everything for me."
