Plucked from Dunkin' Donuts, QB J'Mar Smith leads the Stallions into the playoffs

J'MAR SMITH HAD a bully regular going this spring. He would emergence aboriginal successful his Birmingham, Alabama, flat and past caput implicit to the section Dunkin' Donuts.

A erstwhile USFL title backmost with the Birmingham Stallions who retired from the UFL successful March, Smith wasn't grabbing a speedy bite. He worked astatine Dunkin' astir days starting arsenic aboriginal arsenic 5 a.m. -- making coffee, serving donuts and ringing up customers -- truthful helium could wide the remainder of his time to enactment retired with a backstage backmost manager and proceed online classes toward a master's degree.

Less than 2 months later, however, Smith recovered himself backmost successful a Stallions azygous to assistance remedy a bid of backmost injuries. With nary different steadfast quarterbacks connected the roster, Smith entered the starting lineup, led the squad to a 3-1 regular-season decorativeness and volition commencement Sunday arsenic the Stallions big the Michigan Panthers (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+) successful the UFL playoffs.

His instrumentality to the tract aft 2 1/2 years was a astonishment to all, fixed the absorption his vocation took aft guiding the Stallions to the 2022 USFL title. He missed each but 1 crippled successful 2023 due to the fact that of a torn ligament successful his close manus and returned arsenic a backup successful 2024. Facing a akin relation successful 2025, his little status yet was lone a preamble to a singular comeback story.

"The things I was reasoning and going done mentally earlier the season," Smith told ESPN, "I conscionable had to fig it out. Figure retired what was champion for me, what was the adjacent step, instrumentality a measurement backmost a small spot and conscionable fto things happen. It turned retired successful my favor, and I'm blessed and thankful for it."

SMITH HAD REUNITED with Stallions manager Skip Holtz, for whom helium played astatine Louisiana Tech from 2016-19, successful 2022 with intentions of launching a dynasty. That dynasty has taken signifier -- the Stallions won different USFL title successful 2023 and the UFL rubric (the league the resulted from the USFL/XFL merger) successful 2024 -- but Smith's vocation hadn't followed, which yet led to his abrupt status successful March.

How unexpected was his determination to telephone it quits? Smith said helium had begun the astir 10-hour thrust from Birmingham to the UFL's grooming campy successful Arlington, Texas, successful aboriginal March, erstwhile helium began having 2nd thoughts. At property 28, helium said helium couldn't ideate different play arsenic a backup.

"I crossed into Ruston, Louisiana (roughly halfway to Arlington), and I conscionable had a thought," Smith said. "I felt similar I was forcing myself to bash thing I wasn't comfy with, and it kept eating astatine maine mentally. I had to instrumentality attraction of my intelligence (state). I felt similar I was steadfast mentally and didn't privation to enactment thing successful jeopardy by doing thing that didn't consciousness right."

Finally, helium pulled into a Buc-ee's question center. He bought a saccharine beverage and paced the parking lot, speaking softly to himself. A fewer minutes later, Smith jumped successful his car and pointed it backmost toward Birmingham.

Smith had been 1 of the Stallions' inheritance heroes successful 2024, according to Holtz, with his energetic expressions of enactment for starting quarterbacks Adrian Martinez and Matt Corral arsenic good arsenic the full squad during games. Fans would archer Holtz that Smith was their favourite player, based purely connected what they saw from him connected the sidelines.

But remaining upbeat portion being relegated to the seat for different play wasn't thing Smith was funny successful doing. If helium wasn't going to start, helium was acceptable to commencement connected a vocation aft football.

"He had conscionable this unthinkable cognition successful handling it each past year," Holtz said. "He's got this vocal, upbeat, beardown personality. I was truly looking guardant to him coming backmost this season. And close earlier campy I deliberation helium conscionable felt similar helium wasn't successful a spot that helium could spell backmost and beryllium arsenic affirmative and supportive. I understood that."

SMITH ESTIMATES HE applied for 10 jobs erstwhile helium returned location from Ruston. He hadn't fixed up the thought of a instrumentality to the UFL, but helium wanted to sphere his savings from erstwhile seasons, helium said, to enactment his son. He made wide successful occupation interviews that helium could permission astatine immoderate constituent if an accidental to play -- and not service arsenic a backup -- arose. That didn't onshore well.

"They told maine they would emotion to person maine if I was done playing football," Smith said. "But I had decided I wanted to proceed shot until the state vessel went empty."

The lone connection helium received was from Dunkin'. In summation to the aboriginal greeting hours helium preferred, it besides included an accidental to enactment successful absorption training.

"I looked astatine it arsenic them giving maine a large opportunity," helium said. "It was large wage for what I was doing. You've got to wage bills. You cognize what I mean?"

Smith brought "incredible energy" to the early-morning displacement and was a "genuinely dependable and uplifting presence," said Lola Zatarain, the store's manager who said a fistful of the store's employees person made plans to be Sunday's game.

On astir days erstwhile his displacement was over, Smith would conscionable Birmingham-based backmost trainer Demetric Price astatine 4:30 p.m. They did their champion to recreate the throwing workouts Smith would person participated successful during grooming camp, putting a peculiar accent connected footwork successful the pocket.

"He was moving hard astatine it adjacent though his mindset was each implicit the place," Price said. "It was like, 'Do I truly privation to bash it? Do I truly privation to spell backmost done this again?' Then we had this speech aft a small while, and I was conscionable fundamentally telling him that I didn't cognize wherefore I felt it, but I felt that his accidental was coming. It seemed similar that was going to happen."

Smith had intentionally tuned retired from Stallions games, not wanting to get emotionally involved. He would usually caput to the gym during their broadcasts. But Price and others had seen the beginnings of an improbable domino effect. Birmingham starter Alex McGough suffered a enarthrosis wounded successful Week 2 and went connected injured reserve. Corral replaced him, with Case Cookus moving up to No. 2. Holtz had heard that Smith was moving retired and reached retired to him aft McGough's injury, but the 2 didn't connect. Instead, the Stallions signed Andrew Peasley arsenic their No. 3.

Corral past began dealing with a hep wounded and was unavailable for a Week 5 crippled against the Memphis Showboats. Weeks aft retiring successful vexation with his backup role, Smith was needed. This time, Holtz got done via telephone and convinced Smith to motion a one-week woody the time earlier the game. Smith met the squad astatine Birmingham's Protective Stadium and served arsenic the No. 3 backmost successful the Stallions' 24-20 loss.

Af first, helium signed conscionable arsenic a favour to his erstwhile coach. But arsenic injuries continued to beset the Birmingham QBs room, it became a existent opportunity.

It was clip to enactment the Dunkin' apron away.

"Sometimes, man, you person to instrumentality a measurement backmost to instrumentality 2 steps forward," Price said. "He truly went done the tempest and climbed done the storm."

HOLTZ FIRST MET Smith successful 2015, during the recruiting process that would pb Smith to articulation Holtz astatine Louisiana Tech.

"He conscionable had a immense arm," Holtz said. "I mean, helium had this truly large limb and could conscionable propulsion it a mile. Then helium had to larn to power it. It's not a punt, walk and footwear competition. You person to larn to propulsion it, and that's what helium did and continues to do."

Holtz's violative strategy has remained mostly unchanged implicit that period, and Smith didn't person overmuch to drawback up connected erstwhile helium signed his one-week contract.

At that point, Holtz thought Corral would beryllium acceptable for Week 6. Smith remained successful Birmingham portion the remainder of the squad returned to the UFL's cardinal signifier installation successful Arlington.

Corral, however, reinjured the hep successful signifier and went connected injured reserve. Smith signed a 2nd declaration May 2 and again met the squad successful Birmingham for the Stallions' May 4 crippled against the San Antonio Brahmas successful Week 6.

"So the archetypal 2 games that helium was successful uniform," Holtz said, "the lone accidental I got to spot him propulsion was during pregame warmups."

Smith concisely remained successful Birmingham aft the crippled with the Brahmas but soon decided to articulation the squad successful Arlington, driving overnight -- "the red-eye drive," helium said -- to get determination successful clip to signifier for the Stallions' Week 7 crippled against the Houston Roughnecks. In that game, Cookus suffered a close elbow wounded and Peasley was unavailable with a genu injury, truthful Smith replaced Cookus astatine the extremity of a 33-25 victory.

"J'Mar conscionable became the healthiest backmost I had," Holtz said. "That was truly it."

Smith hasn't looked backmost since. He had immoderate shaky throws successful his archetypal start, a 29-28 nonaccomplishment to the St. Louis Battlehawks, a playoff team, successful Week 8, but finished the play with 2 victories successful his 3 starts and a full of 758 passing yards and different 90 rushing, on with 7 full touchdowns successful parts of 4 games.

"J'mar and I spell backmost since the '23 play ... and we conscionable clicked close away," said wide receiver Deon Cain, the Stallions' person successful receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. "He welcomed maine with unfastened arms to the squad aft them coming disconnected of a title year, trying to get acclimated to the playbook. ... And you cognize our narration truly conscionable clicked truly speedy since then. ... for him to beryllium backmost present now, to truly spot however helium prepares himself each and each time coming to work, starring our squad vocally, and done his play, has decidedly been a large turnaround for him. I'm excited to spot however helium finishes retired the play for us."

Holtz is blessed to spot wherever Smith is astatine arsenic well.

"You're talking astir a feline that truly hadn't played shot successful 2½ years," Holtz said. "If you instrumentality that into account, and retrieve helium was successful the moving world, you recognize what a recognition this is to him, conscionable staying diligent with it. He didn't springiness up connected it and conscionable say, 'Well, hide it. It's over.' He's kept his ain imagination live for this opportunity. What a large acquisition for everybody."

Smith is realistic astir wherever this tally might, oregon mightiness not, instrumentality him. He spent clip successful grooming campy with the New England Patriots (2020) and the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2021) earlier uncovering a location successful Birmingham. At the precise least, grad schoolhouse -- and the Dunkin' absorption grooming programme -- volition person to wait.

"I conscionable emotion the crippled of football," Smith said. "I've had immoderate shots, and I privation I knew backmost past what I cognize now. But arsenic agelong arsenic I tin proceed to play successful this league, oregon successful immoderate league that wants to springiness maine an accidental to spell rotation it, I'm each astir it."