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Mallard Creek High sophomore Mohammad Sirleaf was rather popular Tuesday at school. Everyone was patting him on the back, giving him hugs and handshakes, saying thanks.
Sirleaf, 15, submitted the winning essay in the "Powerade Steve Smith Coach For The Day" contest. That meant Smith, the Carolina Panthers All-Pro receiver, was coming to Mallard Creek to give the team a pep talk and plenty of hands-on instruction.
That also meant Sirleaf's on-campus Q rating went up a few points.
"When we found out, we were like 'Oh wow, a Carolina Panthers player is coming,'" said heavily recruited junior quarterback Marquise Williams, who couldn't contain a big grin. "It's pretty cool, you know? Steve Smith, what can I say, man?
"That's the best receiver in the league. Everybody at school walked around going, 'Steve Smith is gonna be at practice! Steve Smith is gonna be at practice!' We didn't think people cared about the football team. Nobody really talks about us. So for him to do this for us, it means a lot."
A little after 3 p.m., Smith popped into the team's stadium, bounced onto the artificial turf in his black and blue game shoes. The silver cleats gleamed in the sun.
Smith spoke to the team - "I'm here to have fun," he said - and presented Sirleaf with his 2008 NFL Pro Bowl jersey, and later Smith signed it.
Sirleaf said he planned to frame it.
This is the second year Smith has worked with an area high school. Last year, he was coach for a day at Lake Norman High. Like last year, he was very hands-on Tuesday, getting down with players and coaches in drills. Watching him run a route, just a few feet away, is a quick lesson as to why he's so successful in the NFL.
On TV, Smith doesn't appear to be moving that fast. In person, he covers a lot of ground shockingly fast.
And he seemed to be having as much fun as the players.
"It's not that they're hanging with me," he said, "I'm hanging with them. I'm in their world. I know exactly where they're coming from. I know where they're trying to go. For some of those guys, I am the person they're trying to be."
Smith interacted well with the kids. But it was more than his NFL pedigree that seemed to get their attention. He personalized instruction, and made some complex techniques seem simple.
He used an easy-to-understand swimming analogy - demonstrating a freestyle stroke - to make a good point about how to get free at the line of scrimmage.
Smith wants to be a high school coach one day. He said, "It's like six years from now, including this year."
"I think (high school) is where the good habits and bad habits are created," he said, "and you can impact them the most before they go to college, at the prime time when they need to learn."
As Smith worked his way around practice, Sirleaf followed him closely. Born in Liberia and raised in the Netherlands, he moved to Memphis, Tenn, a few years ago to live with his father, who owns car dealerships there. His mother now lives in Europe with three of his brothers.
Sirleaf moved to Charlotte during the summer and hoped to play for the Mavericks before he had to have an operation to remove a small tumor from his toe. So he's sitting out the season - but thinks he found a way to contribute with his essay, and Smith's visit.
No question about it: At Mallard Creek Tuesday, Sirleaf was unquestionably the man.
