TURTLE CREEK, Pa. — Ever since the days of Miles Sanders, the Woodland Hills Wolverines have been waiting for their next star player to carry them to higher goals. They have that star in William “Scoop” Smith.
Smith, a 5-foot-7 junior standout wide receiver, headlines an experienced core of Wolverines. The current core consists of Smith and his best friend and quarterback Cam Walter. The two have played together for years and helped start the rebuild of the program back in 2022 when they started on varsity as freshmen and took the team to the playoffs.
“It was a big game. We are neighbors so we know all of those players, they know us so there was a lot of talking back-and-forth,” Smith told Pittsburgh Sports Now following the game. “It was just a built-up game. We have a lot of players that came from Gateway so it was like we were playing for them. They are over here, they are our brothers now, so it was just a lot built up and we came out on top.”
Smith tallied seven catches for 112 yards in the Wolverines victory over the Gators. One of those came on a 12-yard touchdown connection with Walter. Smith also caught the two-point conversion on that drive which proved to be the difference in the game.
“[Cam is] my guy. In the first half we were clicking but we couldn’t finish the job,” Smith said. “We were getting big plays but we couldn’t get into the end zone. … We came out here in the second half, finished the job and got it done.”
Scoop Smith Celebrates a TD against McDowell. Aug. 23, 2024 / Ed Thompson
In 2022, Smith and Walter managed to sneak the Wolverines into the playoffs at 5-5 and even win a playoff game but after a 6-2 start last year, they did not make the cut for the WPIAL playoffs. While they are off to the same start record-wise from a year ago, the Wolverines are already locked into the playoffs and have a chance of winning the section.
Playing at a storied high school like Woodland Hills, a big thing for Smith is to be remembered when his high school playing career is all said and done.
Winning the section under second-year head coach Brian Tarrant would go a long way in doing that. After missing the playoffs a season ago, many questioned if Tarrant was the right guy for the Wolverines but the team did not listen and instead put their head down and got to work.
“The big thing about me at Woodland Hills is that I always wanted to be remembered here, make something out of nothing,” Smith said. “It was like Woodland Hills was going down hill so we got Coach B. He started changing the program around, but we didn’t make the playoffs last year so everybody thought he wasn’t the right guy but that was totally wrong. … So, we came back this year and we were like ‘it is a statement year. We are going to show everybody that we are back, Woodland Hills is back.”
With Smith being the most storied wide receiver in school history, national attention was sure to come with it. Smith already amassed six collegiate offers including Nebraska, UNLV and Toledo. As a junior, Smith stated that he is not in any rush to make a decision and is just thankful to be where he is.
Scoop Smith announced as a starter against Central Catholic. Sept. 6, 2024 / Nathan Breisinger
“There are a lot of schools reaching out, wanting me to come up on Saturday’s and watch some games,” Smith said. “It is going good, you know, I am very blessed that I have six [offers] already. My dad, cousins, peers and mentors always tell me ‘you only need one’ and I have six so I am not going to rush it or be impatient.”
With his recruitment coming along smoothly and his glory at Woodland Hills being built, Smith eyes even more as his goals for himself and his team are sky-high.
“The plan is obviously to win the conference then go to WPIALs then the big goal is states but we are going to take it game-by-game and go try to win the section next week,” said Smith.
Pitt needs to offer him. Imagine him in their offense