The Cincinnati Connection on Alabama Football's Roster

When the two teams square off in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, one Crimson Tide player will be facing his hometown team and some of his high school teammates.

DALLAS — DeVonta Smith is a pretty well-known name among Alabama fans. It started with his legendary walk-off catch in the national championship against Georgia as a true freshman. It grew as he put up record-breaking numbers in 2020 and became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman trophy in nearly 30 years. 

The name took on an added meaning in the summer of 2020 when one of the top defensive prospects in the state of Ohio flipped from Ohio State to Alabama. His name? Also DeVonta Smith. 

Now, the cornerback is a true freshman on the Alabama roster and has a special connection to the Crimson Tide's opponent this week. Smith is the only Cincinnati-local on the Alabama roster that will be facing his hometown team when the Crimson Tide takes on the Bearcats in the Cotton Bowl CFP semifinal on Friday.  

Cincinnati doesn't have any players on its roster from the state of Alabama. Besides Smith, the only other scholarship player on the Alabama roster from the state of Ohio is freshman tight end Caden Clark from Akron. (Jameson Williams did transfer from Ohio State, but he is originally from St. Louis, Missouri.)

On the flip side, the Cincinnati roster is loaded with talent from the state of Ohio, but even more so from the city. There are 27 players from Cincinnati on the Bearcats' team including four from La Salle where Smith went to school. 

One of those four former high school teammates, Cincinnati tight end Josh Whyle, spoke to the media on Wednesday about what it's like for their team to have so many guys that have grown up playing around each other

"Obviously playing against each other in high school and then being teammates, it's a different relationship," Whyle said. "You have that relationship that you've grown along the years. Some of the guys have also played in grade school, middle school, whatever. I also have DeVonta Smith at Alabama. He went to La Salle, and I'm really excited to play him as well and catch up with him after the game."

As a true freshman, Smith has mostly played in a special teams role for Alabama so far this season. He has seen the role increased over the last few games and was named a special teams player of the week by the coaching staff after the New Mexico State game. 

Whyle shared a story about his playing days with Smith back at La Salle before the former teammates meet again on Friday.

"Back in high school, we were at an early practice," Whyle said. "It was the day before the game, and coach got on him. He was a freshman or sophomore at the time. He kind of got down in the dumps because coach got on him. I went up to him and was like, 'Listen, he's only being hard on you because he knows you're gonna play on the biggest stages of football.'

"And to see him kind of take responsibility for himself and to see him here now, both of us here now— you know, it's really cool."

This story will be updated with video.