MORGANTOWN - This is a story about a Casey who will not strike out.
Because he refuses to.
And he's very quietly giving those in southern West Virginia reason to be proud.
See, few know this, but Casey Smithson is at the bat for WVU's football program. Fewer yet know he's the Mountaineer recruiting coordinator. And even fewer yet know he hails from good ol' Charleston, Dubya Vee.
I know, right? How is this not common knowledge?
Well, maybe because of Smithson himself. His parents own the Royal Automotive dealership on Patrick Street. He was raised in the affluent South Hills. Yet spoiled Smithson is not.
If anything, he's a throwback. He's old school.
Smithson was born in Tennessee, but was moved to Charleston when young. He went to George Washington High, where he played tennis - very successfully. He won the No. 3 singles state championships in 2005 and 2007 and was part of a doubles championship both years as well.
He did not play football, although some of his buddies did. Which makes the story all the more remarkable.
"I grew up loving West Virginia football and the Mountaineers," Smithson said on Tuesday. "We always say there's no pro team in the state, and that was how I was raised."
There apparently was a fine work ethic instilled as well. See, Smithson first went to WVU and earned an undergraduate degree in business management. One would think he did so to help out with the family business. One would also be wrong.
"Everyone used to ask me if I wanted to go into that," Smithson said with a smile. "I said no. That's fine. I could probably get a job there. But they can pass it off to someone else.
"I always followed sports, especially football. It was always something I wanted to get into. I wanted to work in an athletic department, sports administration, that kind of stuff."
So Smithson targeted WVU's sports management program. Unfortunately for him, the program didn't target him. At first, he didn't make the cut.
"That was kind of tough for me," Smithson said. "I thought I had a good case to get in. They said to keep working at it."
Working is all Smithson had been doing.
"I went to undergraduate school and talked to some people my family knew," he said. "I just asked if I could help out around the [football] office. So my freshman year I was up here in the copier room, putting labels on tapes and stuff like that. I had a little desk. People would send tape in and I'd mark down which coach it went to and put it in a bin. I'd kind of organize stuff, help [former operations graduate assistant] Mike Parrish. I learned the recruiting software."
He smiled.
"The first year I was here Coach [Rich Rodriguez] was here and we were doing well, so it was kind of surreal. It was a neat experience."
Neat, perhaps, but not glamorous.
"I was just kind of here helping out on my free time," Smithson said. "I'd help on game days. I'd just help when they needed me, kind of stuck around - and ended up at the right place at the right time."
Twice. Smithson said the best feeling was landing a graduate assistant position right after the WVU Orange Bowl victory.
"It was a rough semester," Smithson said. "I'm glad Coach [Dana] Holgorsen and Coach [Ryan] Dorchester let me keep hanging around after I didn't get in [the sports management program].
"I began to wonder. Should I go somewhere else for grad school? Should I apply other places? Or am I going to be here? It was a big relief. I was glad for the opportunity."
Finally, Smithson got into the sports management program and earned a master's degree this past May. In the meantime, though, a clock was ticking.
"You can only be a grad assistant for so many years," he explained.
When that clock ran out, however, Smithson was undeterred.
"I stayed here and paid for classes for a semester," said the coordinator. "Then, when Coach Dorchester was promoted, there was a spot open and they asked me on full-time. I just kind of stuck around."
Insert big sigh of relief here. Now, Smithson assists Dorchester, the Director of Player Personnel, wrestle WVU's recruiting chores.
"Even though [Dorchester] doesn't have 'recruiting' by his name, we still handle everything together," Smithson said.
That includes the logistical aspects of recruiting: coordinating official and unofficial visits, handling scholarship offers, overseeing the recruiting database and commitment lists, updating the coaches on issues and communicating the eligibility and admission status with the coaches and players.
And he does it full-time. With pay. He indeed is the WVU recruiting coordinator.
"It's a blessing," said Smithson.
It's also a lesson.
"People ask me what to do to get into this," Smithson said. "I say to just help out, volunteer. My buddies would go to the games, but I never got to tailgate because I worked every game. I'd be here at 7 in the morning and drop them off, let them go. I'd just start working."
And now?
"Keep my head down and keep working," Smithson said. "That's kind of been my deal."
He just keeps swinging away.