Former Packers offensive lineman Evan Smith takes over Manitowoc Lincoln football program

MANITOWOC, Wis. (WBAY) - The Manitowoc Lincoln football program is in good hands with former Packers offensive lineman Evan Smith taking over at the helm of the program.

Smith was an assistant coach with last year’s team, leading the offensive line group. Now running the show, he’s striving to build the program in his image.

“Obviously you can see it’s a little different around here with how we run everything,” Smith said. “It’s fun. I’m having a good time. It’s starting to kind of look like a football team.”

Smith spent time across five seasons with the Packers, earning a Super Bowl ring in 2010. He finished his career playing 5 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It’s not everyday that as a high school football player, you have full access to a former pro. It’s something that the Ships aren’t taking for granted.

“I always ask him about stuff in the NFL cause I wanna go there one day,” Ships wide receiver Julien Bailey said. “That’s my goal, to be in the NFL. I ask him questions how the NFL is and what they expect in college at the next level. I ask him questions about that and he’s definitely been there helping me with what to prepare for.”

“If you’re playing football and you don’t buy in to somebody that’s played in the NFL then I don’t know what to say,” Ships offensive and defensive lineman Hayden McCredie said. “If you follow everything I followed, I had a pretty successful year last year I’d have to say, and I give a lot of that to him.”

Throughout his pro career, Smith had a front row seat to some of the best to ever do it. He learned that it takes hard work to get to the top and stay there, something he’s instilling in this group.

“You heard the one, you can lead a horse to water you can’t make them drink,” Smith said. “A Lot of these guys think they’re watching somebody walk a horse down the road and they’re just gonna have a popcorn and a soda. I’m like, ‘No, you’re the horse. You gotta buy in. Nobody’s gonna make this thing happen for you unless it’s you.’ These guys have bought into it. Like I tell them, I can’t come out there, make your calls, run your plays for you. You gotta do it.”

Schematically, Smith doesn’t have any radical changes planned for the defense. On the offense, he’s introduced a level of sophistication to which his players are still adjusting.

“New offense, he’s definitely changed that, made the plays more complex,” Bailey said. “There’s a lot more going on in the huddle. I have to sit there thinking, what in the world did he just say, oh my gosh. He’s definitely changed the play calling, and the plays are really advanced. I love it.”

“My biggest thing is I’m trying to get guys to the next level,” Smith said. “This is a huge spot. Big 10. There’s a lot of schools around here looking for guys. For me, to make them only do one thing all the time doesn’t really help their film. I’m asking these kids as high school players to honestly play at a really high level compared to what you get at some of the upper level stuff.”

It’s been over a decade since the Ships’ last playoff victory, but the program has a storied history, highlighted by three straight state titles from 1984-86. They might not get back to that point in just one season, so the group is focused on building the foundation for the future.

“All our seniors, we know we gotta go out there and set the standard,” McCredie said. “At the end of the day we may not see as much success as they might in 4 years, but we hope for it and we plan on it.”

“Being able to be in this small town, we kinda did come down on a losing streak for a couple years,” Bailey said. “Being out here again for my senior year with Coach Smith, I feel like we’ll be able to change this program around and go to playoffs. I really wanna show these people that we actually are about winning and we can really change this program around.”

The Ships season begins on home turf at Rubick Field on Aug. 22 against De Pere.

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