BUTTE — Bridger Smith made a name for himself as one of the top wide receivers in Montana as a senior at Kalispell Glacier High School this past fall.
But if you saw his play on the field, you wouldn't know the chaos at times the young athlete has dealt with behind the scenes.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Smith said his father wasn't truly in his life and his mother was battling her own challenges.
"It was definitely tough," Smith told MTN Sports last week ahead of the 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game. "Coming up here and just having a lot of family situations going on, being at home just wasn't a very good situation for me.
"There was a bunch of families that were willing to take me in and it was definitely such a blessing just to be able to meet all those new people and meet and learn just valuable lessons in different families."
Smith moved to Kalispell before his sophomore year but found fitting in difficult. So, he briefly moved back to Utah before realizing Montana was where he needed to be.
"The first time I moved was pretty hard, kind of a hard time, you know, making solid friends," Smith said. "But it was kind of my fault, you know, I wasn't letting anybody come in contact with me much, but then I moved back down to Utah and then I was like, 'Dang, I missed out on a good opportunity.'"
When he returned, because of the challenges in his home life, Smith moved around from home to home over two years, bouncing between houses of coaches, trainers, friends, teammates and extended family.
"Definitely a lot of moving," Smith said. "You can complain about it, or you can just kind of view it as, you know, an open opportunity to just grow and learn and learn all different kinds of aspects from different families."
It's a mature outlook for an 18-year-old who has had to grow up quickly.
"I just always knew that I didn't want that to be my life," he said. "I didn't want to grow up like my parents. I didn't want to have my kids live in house to house with different families. I just knew I wanted bigger and better goals for myself. My way of doing that was through sports and schooling.
"Whenever I was able to come on the football field or whenever I was going to the baseball field or whatever it was, you know, it's just an opportunity for me to prove myself and prove that I'm much better than what I came from."
Guided by his faith, Smith has always worked to prove himself with a new-found appreciation for those who helped out along the way.
"I wasn't so grateful for the situation. I was kind of unaware of how much they were actually doing for me, but now looking back at it, graduating and kind of just maturing and just finding out who I really am as a person," Smith said. "Each and every person has had a huge impact in my life and they've all taught me so many valuable lessons, whether it's about family or friendships or just overcoming adversity overall."
While his father passed away when he was in seventh grade, Smith said his relationship with his mother, Ashley Smith, is in a strong place and she's been one of his biggest fans.
"She's always been my biggest role model in life," he said. "And she's always been my biggest supporter. She always knew my goals and aspirations were very high for myself and she always supported me in the ways that she could to help me reach those goals."
There have been plenty of obstacles early in life, but he's found a way to get past it. Smith stood out for the Wolfpack as a senior with 1,015 yards receiving and seven touchdowns, which resulted in an invite to play in this past weekend's Shrine Game.
He'll also take his career to the next level. Smith's ability earned him a scholarship to compete for the Montana Grizzlies beginning in the fall.
"I think it was all just a big blessing from God and I'm a true believer in that for sure, because I grew up at a really young age," he said. "I have always just looked to Him for help and He's always helped me in in ways that I can't imagine. I'd say just through my belief in Christ and just having teammates and coaches to surround me and to support me."
He's ready to build from square one and continue to prove himself, because he's no stranger to overcoming challenges.
"After you go through a lot of stuff and at some point in time, eventually you're more grateful than you ever have been, I guess in a way," Smith said. "So that's kind of where I'm at in my life, just kind of looking back on things and just kind of debriefing and just taking a second to realize how much everybody cares for me and how much everybody did for me."
