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Super Bowl receiver DeVonta Smith: ‘Seeing the work that he put in, it kind of inspired me’

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Cletis Gordon didn’t have a long career in the NFL. The cornerback played in 31 regular-season games and three playoff contests across four seasons, mainly on special teams. But Gordon does have a connection to Super Bowl LIX.

Gordon was a high school standout in Amite, Louisiana, before playing at Jackson State and entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2006.

Amite also is the hometown of Philadelphia wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who’ll be on the field when the Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL championship game at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

“I wouldn’t say there was someone I modeled my game after,” Smith said at a Wednesday press conference. “I had guys before me. For me, Cletis Gordon was the guy that was in the NFL when I was growing up from Amite. My first camp going to was his camp. So not even for football, but just seeing the dedication he had, the work that he put in, it kind of inspired me.”

From Amite, Smith has gone on to become an All-American at Alabama, where he caught the winning touchdown pass in overtime in the CFP national-championship game for the 2017 season, won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award for an undefeated, CFP national-championship team in 2020 and set the SEC career records for receiving yards and touchdown receptions.

RELATED: THE SEC’S TOP 25 RECEIVERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Smith entered the NFL as the 10th pick in the 2021 draft, has 308 receptions for 4,011 yards and 27 touchdowns in 63 regular-season games and holds the Philadelphia record for postseason receiving yards.

Now his second Super Bowl has brought him home, with the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX about 70 miles from Amite.

Smith said it was exciting to be able to “play this game on the biggest stage in front of” family and friends.

“It’s a blessing to come back home,” Smith said. “I get to see the family members that I don’t get to see throughout the season. I get some good food.”

Smith said he especially missed jambalaya while pursuing his NFL career.

In his return to his home state, Smith teamed with TCL, the official TV partner of the NFL, to present a 98-inch television to Vincent Sanders, who has been cutting Smith’s hair since the future football star was a little boy.

“I just wanted to express my gratitude and tell you how much I appreciate you,” Smith said in a presentation video. “You’ve always inspired greatness in me. From the same hometown, you’ve been backing me since Day 1 from Alabama to Philly.”

But Sanders won’t be watching Smith on the TV on Sunday. He’ll be in the Superdome.

“I built a shelf in my barber shop in Louisiana,” Sanders told the Philadelphia Tribune, “and I put a plasma TV on top, and it had four shelves. When DeVonta was little, he told me, ‘One day, that’s where I’m going to put the Heisman.’”

Smith’s first Super Bowl came two years ago in Glendale Arizona, where Philadelphia lost to Kansas City 38-35. Smith had seven receptions for 100 yards in that game.

Smith has played against the Chiefs two other times. He had seven receptions for 122 yards in a 42-30 loss on Oct. 3, 2021, and six receptions for 99 yards in a 21-17 victory on Nov. 20, 2023.

In Kansas City’s 65 seasons, 152 players have collected at least 300 receiving yards against the Chiefs. But only two in that group have averaged at least 100 receiving yards per game against Kansas City – Pro Football Hall of Fame member Andre Johnson with 36 receptions for 617 yards in six games with the Houston Texans and Smith with 20 receptions for 321 yards in three games with the Eagles.

But Smith isn’t concerned about his stats on Sunday.

“I think people overlook the most important stat, which is winning the game,” Smith said. “We don’t care if it’s us running the ball, passing the ball. We’re going to do whatever’s working.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.