The 2010 season was Alston Smith ‘s first on the varsity level. For the first half of the year he played both ways, starting at left offensive tackle and right defensive end. Cox (Virginia Beach, VA) head coach Bill Stachelski decided to make a move for the second half of the season.

“Having him go both ways last year was a coaching mistake,” said Stachelski, whose 2010 squad finished with a 6-5 overall record that included an appearance in the Group AAA, Eastern Region playoffs. “Our offense is a ball control offense, so he was on the field a while and then had to play defense. It was his first year playing varsity, and by the time the first half was over, we weren’t getting what we needed out of him. We decided on playing him on one side of the ball only, moving him down inside to tackle, and that’s where he flourished.”

Smith, the son of NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, finished the regular season with 30 tackles including six sacks and four tackles for loss.

“It was him and Ross [Burbank] on the inside,” Stachelski said. “Basically, one player would get double-teamed and the other would make the play. In most cases, we shut down the other team’s running game, at least up the middle.”

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