Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith’s message to young football campers: ‘You can’t forget where you come from’

Tykee Smith did the impossible Saturday. The Imhotep Charter graduate and safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed to get the rapt attention of a group of hyper 7- and 8-year-olds when tiny rivers of sweat soaked through everyone’s T-shirts and shorts by 9 in the morning.

Smith had just gotten off a flight from Puerto Rico on a business trip and made a beeline right from the airport to the Germantown Supersite for the Wiz and Wave Philly Football Day, a free youth football camp put together with the help of the Imhotep football staff.

Not long ago, Smith, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound safety drafted in the third round by Tampa Bay in 2024, was just like the children he was speaking to about his journey.

He had a lot to tell them.

How he was one of five, raised by his mother, Cassandra, who still works 10- to 12-hour days at a local hospital as a cleaning person. How he grew up in West Philly, knowing kids who never reached the age of 18, and some were imprisoned. How he overcame a torn ACL in his left knee at Georgia, and how it made him question his dream of one day making the NFL. How he received the call from Bucs general manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles a little over a year ago telling him he had just been drafted; and how it is always important to remember where you come from, and to always give back.

“It wasn’t that long ago I was playing on this field,” said Smith, who had an impactful rookie season for the Bucs, starting six of his 13 games, notching two interceptions and forcing three fumbles. “I think it’s why the last part of my message to these kids was the most important: You can’t forget where you come from. When I was the age of these kids, I didn’t really see a clear path to where I am today. I didn’t see football as a way out. Football changed my life.”

He did not begin playing tackle football until he was 10. Smith remembers his mother working all day, seeing her when he left for school in the morning and not seeing her again until late in the evening, her eyes at half-mast, her feet swollen from constantly being on them. He said he derives his drive from her work ethic.

Devon Johnson, who will be entering his fifth year as Imhotep’s head coach and 10th overall with the program, was Smith’s defensive backs coach with the Panthers. He remembers Smith’s cerebral approach, not only to football but to everything. Smith possesses a photographic memory and can recall plays he ran in high school.

What stands out is Smith’s incredible performance against Bethlehem Catholic in the 2017 PIAA Class 4A state semifinal at the same Germantown Supersite where he addressed the youth football campers. He rushed for 253 yards and five touchdowns and caused a fumble in getting the Panthers to the state title game against Erie Cathedral Prep.

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Smith was used sporadically that season at running back, primarily playing slot receiver and defensive back. The night before the state semifinal, Imhotep learned that its star running back Isheem Young had been charged with robbing a South Philadelphia Wawa store in July 2017. (Young pleaded guilty in the case.)

“Tykee is amazing: You would never know he is a successful NFL player by the way he carries himself,” Johnson said. “He always puts everyone else first. That goes back to when he played in high school. Special is an understatement when it comes to him. Tykee the football player is probably the smartest I ever coached here.

“NFL players come home to hang out. He came here at 9 in the morning right off a plane.”

Johnson recalled teaching Smith the plays in the gym on the Friday afternoon before the team boarded the bus to play Bethlehem Catholic

Smith called the Panthers’ defense that night — and to this day, he will say he scored six TDs, not five, because he had one called back.

“A lot of kids placed in a situation like that would have been flustered,” Johnson said. “Not Tykee. He literally took over that game. He played a whole game on defense, and a whole game on offense — impacted both sides. Everything that has come to him is a blessing. But you see the way he carries himself. He made a name for himself late. Tykee carved out his own path.”

Now the father of a 3-year-old daughter, Smith went to West Virginia for two years before transferring to Georgia, where he won two national championships. He went on to become the first person to graduate from college in his family, earning a degree in sociology from Georgia.

His nadir came when he suffered a torn ACL in his junior year with the Bulldogs.

“That forced me to question myself, but I kept working through it,” Smith said. “I had some confidence problems with my knee, but in 2023, I started to trust it more. I felt stronger. I was also having my daughter when I tore up my knee, and that’s what gave me my motivation. I had to get back for her. She’s my everything.

“You can say I left this field a boy and came back a man. I had a lot of support. My mom is one of the strongest people I know. I come back to Philly every time I can. My family is still up here, and I make sure I go back to Imhotep every time I can. [The school retired his No. 2.] The coaches here gave me a foundation. They helped me through my journey.”

That journey is ongoing. Smith took the first flight out of Philadelphia to go back to Tampa in preparation for training camp. He has created a legacy that has gone beyond a bustling group of 7- and 8-year-olds to include some recently graduated players, too.

Kasir Wright, a starter for Imhotep’s 2024 Class 5A state champions and a 2025 grad, is heading to Lincoln University. He is projected to be a defensive end and says he grew up watching Smith play for Imhotep.

“You see guys like Tykee and you can relate to them,” Wright said. “He came from Philly, like I did. He played at Imhotep, like I did. He started off being underrated and he worked his way to the top. He is definitely an inspiration. He shows he can do it, and Imhotep carries a standard that is family. Tykee looks like and is a regular guy. When I first saw him in the building last year, just before he was drafted, I didn’t know it was him.”

Kenny Woseley did. He patterned his game after Smith’s. A Penn State cornerback and 2024 Imhotep graduate, Woseley was another camp counselor. He has gained 20 pounds since he last played at the Germantown Supersite for the Panthers. He sees what he can one day be through Smith.

Woseley was easily the most popular among the volunteer coaches. Everywhere he went, he had a horde of children surrounding him.

“It’s always good to tap into the kids and youth, because I was one of those kids looking up to Tykee,” said Woseley, who is slated to play cornerback and nickel back this season for the Nittany Lions. “You see how far he went in college and the NFL. Tykee set the example. He’s one of the older guys that gave us the blueprint, and it’s up to guys like me that are my age to keep that blueprint going. You always find there are new ceilings to break through. This is pretty cool. These kids here want to be me like one day, going to Penn State, playing major college football, and I want to one day be like Tykee.”