Wally Smojver doesn’t have any children of his own.
But he has a son in Colt Nichter.
Nichter, a former Park City High School football player, has quietly made his way into the heart of the toughest college football conference in the country. Not to mention one of the best academic institutions around.
As a redshirt sophomore defensive tackle at Vanderbilt University, Nichter has cracked the rotation on the defensive line and has registered a sack and nine tackles on the young season.
The question is how did a kid from a quiet ski town like Park City make his way to Nashville to ply his trade against some of the fiercest competition in the nation?
Smojver will tell you.
A former defensive end for the Florida Gators in the late 70s, Smojver found his way to Utah after deciding to, as he described, “sell off everything I had” in Florida and come out to make a home for himself in the Wasatch mountains.
One day, Smojver was driving past the Park City High School football field and noticed the team was practicing. He asked former head coach Brandon Matich if he could help out in any way. Matich obliged.
Smojver eventually made his way into the weight room where he met Nichter. The two hit it off. When Smojver had to take a last-minute business trip back to Florida, Colt called Smojver on his cell phone.
“Coach, camp stars tomorrow. I want you there. I want you to coach me,” Colt said.
Smojver knew the kid was something special.
“He is the reason I got involved,” Smojver said.
Nichter was originally slated to attend Washington State University and be a mainstay on the offensive line as a recruited center. But after Vanderbilt came in with a last-ditch offer, Nichter knew the opportunity was too good to let it pass him by.
Often referred to as the “Harvard of the South,” Vanderbilt was an experience that Colt knew he wanted.
“Academics before athletics,” Colt said. “The classroom always comes first. It’s important for what I want to do after college.”
The kid does more than just talk. He’s made the academic walk, too.
Nichter was named as an All-Academic member of the Southeastern Conference last year. He is currently carrying a 3.0 grade average.
A major in human and organizational development, Nichter eventually wants to make his way into business and marketing, but after he gets a master’s degree following a diploma from Vanderbilt.
As for adjusting from the life as Park City Miner to the fast-paced life of an SEC football player?
“The hardest thing for me is time management,” he said. “Got to go to classes, practice, weight room, got to study.”
As the cliché goes, hard work pays off. And it certainly has for Nichter.
The Park City alum has embraced the culture of the South and mentions that Nashville is a budding place for a youngster like himself.
“I love it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. The music scenes are awesome. You walk down the street and see country-music stars playing at bars.”
When he’s not taking in the culture of Nashville, he’s standing toe-to-toe with the biggest offensive lines in the nation. Listed at 6-foot-2, 288 pounds, Nichter is a huge part of the Vanderbilt defensive line.
As Smojver pointed out after Vanderbilt’s 27-3 loss to No. 19 Louisiana State, Nichter “tested out” the highest amongst the defensive tackles. After each game, position players watch film with their respective position coaches and the coaches grade them from 1 to 100 on how well they did. Colt got an 84, the highest of all defensive tackles.
“We’ve got a pretty good D-line,” Nichter said. “We’re really close. We’re all very good friends and hang out all the time.”
Nichter took a redshirt season as a true freshman, but made the traveling team. During that season, he picked up a severe high-ankle sprain before the season started and was hampered by it throughout the year.
“It just got worse and worse,” he said. “It feels good to play this year and feels good to contribute.”
But as Smojver, his former defensive-line coach at Park City, has always told him, “If you stick it out, if you’re mentally tough, you keep your mouth shut and work your ass off, good things will happen.”
Things are on the up for the Park City local.
While his Commodores are 0-2 on the season, Nichter is certain his team will turn it around. He mentioned his team doesn’t have a lack of heart and will continue to fight.
“We have a lot of good kids,” Nichter said. “We’re going to turn things around.”
Smojver sees a product that is close to perfection in Colt and thinks the community should stand proud.
“Colt’s the reason I coached,” he said. “He’s a kid that Park City people need to be proud of.”
As if the connection between the two weren’t strong enough already, Smojver will fly to Nashville to see Colt play collegiately for the first time on Nov. 6.
Against who else but Smojver’s alma mater, Florida.