SAN FRANCISCO 鈥 Rod Smith is a man of faith. Recent events have reinforced his beliefs.
The 蜜聊直播 蜜聊直播鈥 co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is the son of a coach. Gary Smith coached high school football in Franklin, West Virginia, for decades. Gary coached Rod, a quarterback who would go on to play for and work under UA coach Rich Rodriguez.
Gary Smith recently visited his son in Tucson. Upon returning home, Gary, 65, hurt himself while reaching for something in his van. An arm rest jammed into his side. Several hours later, Gary still felt ill. He went to the emergency room. Doctors found internal bleeding, as well as a mass in Gary鈥檚 abdomen.
The mass turned out to be cancerous and had to be removed. Doctors wouldn鈥檛 have discovered it if Gary hadn鈥檛 accidentally injured himself.
Gary was flown by helicopter to the University of Virginia鈥檚 University Hospital to have surgery. Rod, meanwhile, took the first flight to Charlottesville. The 蜜聊直播 had just begun to practice for Wednesday鈥檚 Foster Farms Bowl. Rodriguez told Smith not to worry about that. The staff could handle it.
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鈥淩od, say no more,鈥 Rodriguez told Smith. 鈥淕o. Get your butt back there and take care of your family. We鈥檒l take care of it here. Take as much time as you need.鈥
鈥淚鈥檝e known his dad as long as I鈥檝e known Rod,鈥 Rodriguez said this week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a hard decision. It鈥檚 family.鈥
The Dec. 7 surgery to remove the mass from Gary Smith鈥檚 abdomen lasted about nine hours. The mass weighed 30 pounds 鈥 so heavy it required two hands to carry.
The surgery was risky but necessary. The surgical team, led by Dr. Tracey Krupski, had to remove one of Gary鈥檚 kidneys and part of his colon. There was concern 鈥 ultimately unfounded 鈥 that the cancer had spread.
鈥淭here was a lot of uncertainty,鈥 Rod Smith said. 鈥淭hey were concerned about taking it out because it was so big. There was a fear he would bleed out on the table.鈥
Gary managed to pull through. After the surgery, Dr. Krupski addressed Smith and his family. 鈥淚 can honestly say,鈥 she told them, 鈥渢hat Christmas has presented our first miracle this year.鈥
Gary is staying with his daughter, Michelle, while he recovers.
鈥淗e鈥檚 doing much better now,鈥 said Rod, whose mother, Debbie, passed away in 2014. 鈥淪omeone needs to be around there to help him. He can鈥檛 lift anything heavier than a milk jug.鈥
Rod Smith returned to the team the weekend of Dec. 16-17. His father 鈥 who came out of retirement to help coach Michelle鈥檚 son Tyce鈥檚 high school team 鈥 watches every UA game. Rod said Gary is the 蜜聊直播鈥 鈥渂iggest fan.鈥
When 蜜聊直播 kicks off against Purdue on Wednesday night, Rod will be thinking about the father he almost lost. Gary is still recovering. Follow-up exams are still needed. But he鈥檚 alive, and he鈥檒l be watching.
鈥淲ithout a doubt in my mind, God鈥檚 hand was all over this,鈥 Rod Smith said. 鈥淗e showed us the problem. Took care of the problem. Now He鈥檚 healing the problem.鈥
Cats鈥 community service
The 蜜聊直播 spent part of Christmas Day helping others.
The team helped prepare and serve meals to hundreds of homeless and elderly people late Monday morning at Glide Memorial Church.
Wearing Foster Farms hats and aprons, which they slipped over their black UA sweat suits, the 蜜聊直播 made sandwiches (peanut butter or ham), fixed multicourse holiday plates and bused tables. They were happy to do it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really an uplifting experience,鈥 said freshman quarterback Rhett Rodriguez, who wiped down tables after appreciative diners had finished their meals. 鈥淭he gift of giving is really often more meaningful than receiving anything. Being able to give on Christmas 鈥 it鈥檚 just a good day for everybody.鈥
UA coach Rich Rodriguez helped organize the troops. He instructed players to open bags of bread so the slices could be spread across plastic-covered tables and made into sandwiches. He exhorted them to keep pace behind the lunch counter so he and daughter Raquel always would have a tray ready for the next person in line.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of our guys,鈥 Rodriguez said. 鈥淭hey were excited about coming over here. I can see the way they鈥檙e working. It鈥檚 genuine. They鈥檙e not over here because we鈥檙e telling them; they鈥檙e over here because they want to help out. To put a smile on somebody鈥檚 else face and to give them a nice meal is pretty special.鈥
Glide was expected to serve over 4,500 meals Monday, more than double its daily average, said Eden Chan, the church鈥檚 special-events manager. Purdue players served meals at another San Francisco church, St. Anthony鈥檚. The city has a homeless population of about 7,000.
Ticket takeback
About 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve, senior defensive tackle Marcus Griffin tweeted that he had four extra tickets to the Foster Farms Bowl and offered them to 鈥渁 family who would like to attend to the game.鈥
鈥淣o charge or anything,鈥 Griffin tweeted. 鈥淛ust want to spread a little joy.鈥
鈥淲hy not make somebody鈥檚 holiday?鈥 he said the next morning. 鈥淢aybe somebody that couldn鈥檛 afford to go. Spread a little holiday cheer.鈥
About a half hour later, Griffin learned that giving the tickets away could be construed as an NCAA violation if they ended up with a prospective student-athlete. So he apologetically rescinded the offer, tweeting that he would give them to a teammate 鈥渢o avoid any harm on my end.鈥
Extra points
- The 蜜聊直播 practiced in shorts for a little over an hour Monday afternoon. After three busy days, Rodriguez hopes to keep the team off its feet as much as possible leading into the game.
- No one appeared on 蜜聊直播鈥檚 bowl-game injury report, meaning everyone who wasn鈥檛 already out for the season is expected to be available.
