Dancing DeVonta Smith Flashes Personality
PHILADELPHIA – DeVonta Smith isn’t much of a talker, at least not in his news conference with reporters.
Apparently, though, he can dance, as evidence by a video on social media that showed him strutting his stuff with teammates whooping and hollering around him in the visitor’s locker room during the immediate aftermath of the Eagles’ 32-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
“You think he's more of a quiet guy initially,” said head coach Nick Sirianni about his first-round rookie. “He's nice, got a great personality but he's very serious about football and that's great. But that's what you want to see after a game.
“You work hard to get to that moment, and I want him to feel great after a game like that and celebrate after that and crave to get that again. So, it was good to see [WR] DeVonta [Smith] do that. Maybe I have to learn that dance and I'll do that next time.”
Who knows. maybe the 22-year-old Smith will someday line up a stint on Dancing with the Stars? Maybe Sirianni, too.
While ballroom dancing is probably a long shot, there is no doubt that the postgame locker room was one big party.
It was back to business on Wednesday, though.
Actually, it was back to business on Monday, with the application of the Eagles’ 24-hour rule, which states you forget a win after 24 hours and get ready for the next opponent. The same rule applies to a loss.
Sometimes easier said than done with a young group, however.
Sirianni doesn’t believe his team will let last week’s high-emotion win affect them when the San Francisco 49ers come to town for the Eagles’ home opener Sunday at 1 p.m.
“We literally live in the moment of, ‘How are we going to get better today – how are we going to leave this building better today than we were yesterday?” Sirianni said. “Well, if you're constantly thinking about the past or if you've got a big ego based off how you played and not thinking about that, you won't do that.
“It's my job as a coach to make sure that importance of no letdowns happens. In all honesty, we won one game. We got to go out there and do it again. That's what good teams do, they come out on the field every Sunday ready to play regardless of what happened the game before.”
MORE: Jalen Hurts' Completion Percentage, Overall Success, Soars...
Smith is, presumably, done dancing – for now.
But it was a sight to behold, seeing him enjoy himself after listening and being a part of his interviews since the day he was drafted 10th overall last spring and observing how seriously he takes the game.
“We’re not just football players,” said Jalen Hurts, who played for a season with Smith at Alabama. “We all have lives and personalities and stuff like that … He’s a great all-around guy.”
Added Jalen Reagor about his fellow WR: “That’s him. That’s the thing you all don’t see. We see him like that. That’s Smitty. You all see DeVonta. We see Smitty. He’s been doing it.”
MORE: Jalen Reagor Looking for Many Happy Returns in Punt Game
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.