St. Joseph Goats’ wide receiver Boo Smith looks to shine on U.S. Men’s National Flag Football Team

(ST. JOSEPH, MO) - D'ionte Smith, also known as Boo Smith, is a wide receiver for the St. Joseph Goats football team in the Arena League. Two years ago, the speedy wideout was playing a pickup game in the offseason trying to stay in shape, and some friendly advice shifted his focus from tackle football with pads to flag football.

"The guys I played with, Eugene Walker and Cornell Brown. Both of them were like, hey, you need to travel, man! You'll love it, flag is this, flag is that, you need to come travel, man, try it out. Then they ended up getting me to go to nationals in Texas this year and I ended up playing and I enjoyed it," said Smith. "It was lit. I loved it. The quarterback that I play with is Willie Perez. He is the offensive coordinator for the US national team. He told me, boo, I know you do contact with the UFL and the NFL and the arena, but I really think you're a good guy that could come be a part of something great, man. Try out flag!"

So the former Missouri Tiger sent the U.S. Men's National Flag Football Team a tryout video of his workouts that led to an invitation to try out for the team in California. Also trying for roster spots were Smith Saint Joseph Goat's teammates, Angelo Trujillo and Ryan Martinez.

"Me, Martinez and Angelo, we went out there, we just enjoyed ourselves. We went to San Diego, Chula Vista Beach, we all had an Airbnb together. We just had a good time playing football, meeting everyone, seeing everyone. It was a fun experience for sure," said Smith.

It was Smith's blazing speed and athleticism that impressed the US national National flag football team so much that he earned a roster spot. During the tryout, Smith caught passes from another member of the national team, former Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.

"My very first day, I was on his team. So, that was the good thing. I asked the coaches, after the count I was like, why are y'all pairing with RGIII at first. They told me, NFL experience with high level, we know you're fast, and he got an arm for 70 yards, so he wanted to see how that looked," said Smith. "Him and I, the very first day, man, we're balling, we had a field day. You would have thought we played together for a long time."

Back in February, it was announced that men's and women's flag football will make its debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. So Smith will now have a chance to compete in the Olympic Games on the national team.

"I'm overly excited for that for sure. That's something crazy because not to toot my own horn, I have a lot of accolades that I've accomplished over the years. I've been all-American in sports, track and field, two top Triple Crown for the GOATs, MVP. I've done a lot," said Smith. "But being a part of the U.S. National Team is another thing. It's like, man, this is crazy, and now I'm like, if I get gold, I feel like that's something!"

Up next for Smith, he heads to training camp to see if he becomes one of 12 national team members to compete in the IFAF flag Football World Championship in Dusseldorf, Germany on August 13th-16th of this year.