MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — DeVonta Smith has worked hard this offseason to get bigger, stronger and faster.
And he’s done all of it despite his new regional addiction.
“You know what’s crazy? I got a Wawa addiction. Honestly,” Smith said on Thursday. “Wawa sandwiches. I don’t know. I literally eat one every day for some reason.”
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Smith, 23, grew up in Amite City, Louisiana and then went to the University of Alabama. So the last year and a half has opened up his world. There’s obviously a lot of great food in Philly but Wawa in convenient and Smith has taken a liking to it.
His favorite order? The honey smoked turkey.
Based on Wawa’s nutrition calculator, a Shorti hoagie with cheese and honey smoked turkey, without anything else, is 480 calories. Not too bad.
And aside from his daily Wawa fix, Smith has worked to become a healthier eater as he enters Year 2 in the NFL. He’s also packed on some more pounds while maintaining his explosiveness.
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“He’s gotten bigger, he's gotten stronger, he feels like he's running faster out there,” head coach Nick Sirainni said recently. “And then just everything with his game has gotten better because that's just the way DeVonta works.”
Smith said he has gained some weight this offseason — he’s listed at 170 pounds, the lightest position player on the roster — so add a few more to that.
The good news is that Smith has seen a tangible payoff to that hard work this offseason.
“I feel more explosive in everything I’m doing,” he said. “I look in the mirror, and I feel like I look a little built, a little bigger.”
Smith missed several days of training camp earlier this summer as he got over a groin injury. But since his return, Smith has been heavily featured in the offense and has been a handful for his own cornerbacks as well as those from Cleveland and Miami in joint practices.
While Smith has always been tougher than his slender build would suggest, he’s been making physical catches all camp. Even on Wednesday against the Dolphins, he came back for an underthrown ball from Jalen Hurts and wrestled it away from a defender.
“It works hand in hand,” Smith said. “When I’m covered, Jalen throws a great ball and it makes it seem like I’m open. Even when it’s a bad pass or not, I gotta bail him out the same way he bailed me out.”
Now Smith has all the necessary strength to make that happen. And perhaps an endorsement deal from Wawa not far behind.
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