Smyth doing all he can for Nashua South football despite being sidelined

The vocal leader for the Nashua High School South football team won't ever see the field this year.

While Robbie Smyth might not suit up this fall, but that hasn't kept him away from the Panthers. Whether its practice, scrimmage or a game, the South senior has been on the sideline for his teammates whenever he can be, even though it's driving him crazy.

"There's some anger in there, too," Smyth said. "It's really frustrating, but it's something you have to live with now."

Smyth had big dreams for his final year of football at South, but he was also thinking of his future when he attended a New England Elite Football Clinic at Bentley University in early July. While running drills in front of college scouts, Smyth was backpedaling and took a funny step, causing a pain in his Achilles tendon that left him doing anything but laughing.

"I was going through a drill, doing one-on-ones, and I planted coming out a backpedal and it just tore," Smyth said. "It's one of those times you plant wrong and push off wrong. At first, I thought it was just a strained muscle. I had an MRI, found out it was torn and I couldn't play my senior year."

It was a big blow for the Panthers, as Smyth was one of the top receivers in Division I a year ago and Panthers coach Scott Knight was expecting him to be a key part of the team's offense.

"More importantly, he's one of our real vocal leaders," Knight said. "He's still a captain. We still have him in a leadership capacity to a certain degree, but it'd also be great to have him out on the field, leading by example.

"We miss his talent, too. We lose a little depth there. That was an area we thought we were over the hump. Now we have some depth, just not what it could have been."

The injury has also put Smyth's future playing football up in the air. He'd sent out highlights from his junior year to some colleges, and had hope to have a lot more to add to it after this season.

Now, his focus is more on getting back to one hundred percent as soon as he can.

"The doctor said it’s about seven months before you can feel good enough to do something, so hopefully, I can come back for a spring sport," Smyth said. "I had some schools I really wanted to talk to. When I start rehabbing, (playing in college) will definitely motivate me to get to a hundred percent. I want to play in college and I'll do anything in my power. I'll be motivated to getting healthy and see if I can still play."

When he first started playing football, Smyth wouldn't have guessed he'd want to continue doing it for so long.

"I started playing in the fourth grade and didn't know how I felt about it because I was a guard," he said. "Sixth grade came around and I started back up and they put me in the backfield and I liked it there."

Even though he continued to play through middle school and as a freshman at South, it wasn't until the summer before his sophomore year that Smyth began to realize how much he enjoyed the game.

"When (the coaches) said I had the potential to start sophomore year, that just motivated me to work so much harder," he said. "And then when I did start, I thought maybe I could play in college."

Knight has been grateful that Smyth has stuck around the program as much as he has, providing that vocal leadership the Panthers would have struggled to replace had he not.

"He's always been one of the most likable kids you have in your program," Knight said. "He's going to be sorely missed next year, just his outlook and his personality. He's a great kid to have around your program. At least he's here and we have his physical presence."

The coaching staff hasn't shied away from using Smyth's injury as a reason to motivate the rest of the team when it seemed necessary.

"It's a subject that I brought up in a meeting with the linemen the other day," Knight said. "I didn't think they were putting the best effort, and I said here's a guy who is lugging that leg up and down the hill with his crutches and he would kill just to be able to play one play. You know he'd play as hard as he could. If the kids aren't hustling or playing hard, you look across that field and see (Smyth) it can be inspiring for some."

That's something Smyth has tried to be for his teammates.

"Some people, they would get injured and not come back, but me, I've been playing with these guys for four years and I don't want to turn my back on them," he said. "Being a senior, I still want to be around the game and around my team."