Former UF coach Ron Zook approaches James Smith and asks him a simple question.
"Can you do anything else besides play linebacker?"
Smith responds with an even more succinct, "Well, I can long-snap."
"Then you got a spot on the team," Zook says.
Five years ago, Smith thought that moment was the pinnacle of his life.
He was wrong.
Now, Smith, a former Buchholz High star, has become one of the most successful walk-ons in UF football history, and his leadership abilities have even been compared to Tim Tebow's. He has become a regular in the lineup when most walk-ons crave just a chance to wear the uniform. He is recognized as a team leader for one of the top programs in the country amid four- and five-star prospects who had more Division I offers than Smith had from Division II programs. He's become the guy who - when any new hopeful player wanders out to the practice field for the first time - is the first sought out for advice.
All this from an undersized linebacker who was always told walking on to the program he has been following his whole life "is not possible" and "won't be done."
Apparently, they should have gotten to know someone many of his teammates call one of the most committed members of the nation's No. 5-ranked team.
The Art of the Snap
Smith trots out on the field and bends over. He gets a firm grasp on the football and slightly bends his knees. He looks through his legs and, with a quick snap of the wrist, sends the ball directly into punter Chas Henry's hands.
That's it.
Smith's duty is done, and he performed it well. That's what he has done for the last four years. That's what he's taken 100-plus degree Florida heat for summer day after summer day while getting pounded on by players who are bigger and faster than him.
Not exactly the college party most envision when they come to UF. As a walk-on, however, that's just the path he's been called to tread upon.
"You're almost a little bit disposable," Smith said. "(The coaching staff) doesn't have anything invested in you. You have to do (the same thing) multiple times to get the same chances."
Doing the same thing is exactly what Smith does. The vast majority of those 90,000 lunatics filling Ben Hill Griffin Stadium don't notice what Smith does. They certainly will if he is off by an inch with his snap, though. That's never been a worry with Smith.
"The camera, a lot of times, won't even show the snap," Smith's brother, Brian said. "They'll be focused on the punter."
For the senior who started long-snapping in high school "just because nobody else could do it," he's even more consistent with his snaps than Tebow is running up the gut of defenses.
"In high school, you can have some of those moments where you're not real sure where the ball is going to go, but having James Smith out there, who's a four-year starter … You never really have to worry about it," Henry said. "It's always going to be right there on your hip."
Smith's long-snapping duties have caused some difficult family times, too. During Brian's freshman year at the Naval Academy, he wanted to watch James during his first Tennessee game. Except for one thing: Plebes - students in their freshman year at the Academy - are not allowed to watch TV. So Brian went down to his training sergeant and told him of his situation. And apparently the upperclassmen felt the brotherly love, because they let Brian watch the game with them that night.
But there was still a problem.
"I wanted to go crazy, but I had to be still with all the juniors," Brian said.
His parents were probably excited enough back home in Gainesville.
Apparently those 100-plus snaps a day have paid off.
The Unknown Leader
It was a list of 11 names. Tim Tebow, you've probably heard of him. Brandon Spikes, he's fairly well-known, too. You probably have even heard of offensive linemen Jason Watkins, Phil Trautwein and Jim Tartt.
Backup linebacker Ryan Stamper was even more understandable. But the friggin' long snapper? A team captain?
If you're wondering why, just ask the players. They're the ones who voted him as one of their leaders.
"He's really pushing me and everyone else," Tebow said. "In running and sprinting, that's where he is a really hard worker. That's where he's earned a lot of respect from the guys on the team. He's a blessing to Florida football."
And whenever your name is linked to Tebow's, that's something you shouldn't take lightly.
"You could kind of label him like a Tim Tebow," sophomore center Maurkice Pouncey said.
Smith stays out of trouble, and he will soon graduate with a degree in Exercise and Sport Sciences. Even Tebow, who is known as a picture-perfect student-athlete, can point to Smith to show how to be successful not just on the field, but in life.
Even if you don't recognize who No. 43 is, all that matters is the impact he tries to make on every player who sprints out of that tunnel on Saturday.
"I don't mind if people don't know who I am," Smith said. "It doesn't bother me a bit."
He is the real leader for any other walk-ons who try to follow in his footsteps. Smith has become an idol of what a walk-on can be.
"It gives guys hope," said Joey Sorrentino, another successful walk-on. "Come out here and bust your butt and look what can happen."
But to get to that point, you better never take a second off. For every drop of sweat that comes off a scholarship player's brow, two drops need to come off of a walk-on's. And that's where Smith has separated himself.
"The things you don't see is off-season training," Sorrentino said. "He's one of the hardest workers on the team. He gets there early, stays late. Pushing. Motivating. Really knows how to pick guys up."
Whenever walk-ons come out for the team, they quickly seek out Smith.
"I just tell them it's going to be rough," Smith said. "You just got to work hard."
The End Is Near
Adrenaline is pulsing in his veins. Sweat is starting to trickle down his brow. Butterflies are jumping up and down like a hyper child on a trampoline in his stomach.
Smith is about to run through the tunnel and into The Swamp for the first time of his collegiate career. He feels like he's running a 4.2-second 40-yard dash, he has so much adrenaline. To put that in perspective, freshman running back Jeff Demps, who almost made America's Olympic track team, doesn't run that fast.
"I'm not knocking James, but if you had told me when we were little kids that he would play for the Gators and start for four years," Brian said, "that would've been a long shot."
Now Smith is just six regular season games, a potential SEC Championship and a potential bowl bid away from never playing competitive football again.
Maybe, however, that doesn't matter.
"I'd like to buy some stock in his future," UF coach Urban Meyer said.
That's probably not a bad idea. His past has been a pleasant surprise.
