Four weeks ago, he was trying to relearn football.

Four days ago, Smith logged the latest in a series of game-changing plays early in his first season at Weber State.

It’s only been two games, but the freshman linebacker has certainly made sure announcers are saying his name — not a guarantee for someone who only had two DI scholarship offers (WSU and Southern Utah) out of high school.

“Going through the recruiting process with him so late, I was surprised, because he is a player,” said Andrew Fresques, Smith’s head coach at Northridge High School in Layton. “I’m not surprised at all at what he’s doing right now.”

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

Smith caught 89 passes for 1,398 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons at Northridge, then went full tilt on defense as a senior strong safety in 2023 when he totaled 148 tackles, including 12 for loss and six sacks, with one interception and three forced fumbles in 10 games.

He signed with WSU and left the country for missionary service and, with about six months to go, he learned that Weber State was changing head coaches. Luckily for him, Eric Kjar was keeping Jace Campbell on staff and bringing back Tana Vea.

“They were the main two that recruited me. So when they were on the staff, I knew I was already going to be comfortable here no matter who the head coach was,” Smith said. “I really wanted to stay in the state of Utah. I didn’t want to go far because I wanted my family and friends to be able to support me. I was super stoked signing here; signing here was kind of a no-brainer because I live 5 minutes down the road; it’s home.”

But getting home in May usually means, at least in old eligibility terminology, redshirting for a season.

Smith has beat the odds in that sense — not just playing, but recording a game-winning PAT block, a fumble-return touchdown and a near-length-of-the-field interception return.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

“I think I had two phases. When I first got back, summer training kicked my butt. It was so hard. Just going from walking every day, being out of shape, eating however I wanted in Brazil — coming here was completely different. I got home one weekend and by the next, I was here already,” he said. “So it was a quick turnaround, and it was hard. I had my mission legs; it was hard to get back for the first few weeks until I got the hang of it.”

But that was just June and July.

“The second phase was fall camp. I had to relearn how to play football because you don’t really do anything football in the summer; that was just getting my strength back,” Smith explained. “So my football skills weren’t back yet. I feel like I’m still catching up on some skills I had before that I’m trying to kick back into gear.”

Why isn’t Fresques surprised at Smith’s early success? He said that when Smith was a sophomore, coaches had to tell him to lift weights less — he wasn’t allowing enough time for recovery.

“He was one we had to back off of things,” Fresques said. “He’s one of those rare breeds. A lot of kids now, it’s tough to get them to put the electronics down and go get extra work, but Zach, we had to make sure he wasn’t doing too much on his own because he’s a workaholic and loves his craft.”

Smith has been thrust into the spotlight due to injuries among WSU’s most experienced linebackers. He said he didn’t expect to play in the opener at Northern Colorado, but was grateful his number was called and that he had a chance to help the team.

Coaches say Smith earned his playing time and that Weber State needs talent like his on the field.

“He’s got a huge upside and a ridiculous athleticism,” linebackers coach Tanner Jacobson said. “Zach is on the upper tier of everything we do; he’s super strong, he’s explosive, he’s got great top-end speed, great acceleration.

“So with those tools, it’s on us as coaches to makes sure we fine-tune and get him figuring out the playbook and all those things, because you can already see in two games what his ceiling can be. If we just get some mistakes figured out and get him playing fast all the time, that’s really what’s next for him.”

He finished that Northern Colorado game with the tallest leap, getting in the way of an extra-point kick with 3 seconds left to secure Weber State a 30-29 win.

Last week at Southern Utah, Smith was there to reap the fruits of team labor when reserve receiver Porter Hadley blocked an SUU punt in the second quarter. Smith scooped the ball off the turf in stride and had himself a 25-yard touchdown return.

That was WSU’s first blocked-punt touchdown in five years (since Oct. 30, 2021, on a Naseme Colvin block and Winston Reid recovery in the end zone at Idaho State).

He wasn’t done there.

Southern Utah was about to cash in a 33-yard field that came as a result of a failed WSU fake punt rush, a sequence that had the Thunderbirds closing in on a 48-36 lead. On second-and-8 at the WSU 10, SUU quarterback Will Burns lofted to a briefly open tight end Joshua Acord in the end zone (Acord and Smith were teammates at Northridge in the 2020 and 2021 high school seasons).

Smith caught up and batted the pass out of the air, a touchdown-saving breakup.

On the next play, Burns threw across the middle and Smith was there again, this time for a clean catch. Smith burst to the left side and returned the interception 91 yards to the SUU 8.

Even after a penalty, WSU scored a touchdown on the next play; instead of being down 12, the Wildcats led 42-41.

Smith’s 91-yard interception return is the third-longest in program history. It’s now the longest non-scoring INT return in the record book, something Smith said he’s learned from.

“Hydrate more before the game. It’s definitely hard to run 100 yards,” he smiled. “So definitely hydrate more, take pregame serious, preparation for game day; eat right, be ready. But I’m grateful for my teammates, they were blocking for me the whole way down. Porter Small, I was just running behind him the whole time.”

Overall, Smith is trying to remember gratitude as he looks to improve each week.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity and trust from the coaches to go and make plays,” he said. “I was definitely not expecting to play as a true freshman, especially off the mission.”