There’s a special kind of pride that ripples through our community when one of our own steps onto college football’s biggest stage.
This weekend, that pride wears gold. Former Hononegah Indians standout Kurt Smith has officially made the Notre Dame Fighting Irish roster as a walk-on running back, earning a spot on a squad with its sights firmly set on a national championship.
Smith, wearing number 37, will be on the sidelines—and potentially in the backfield when Notre Dame faces off against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lambeau Field for the 2026 Shamrock Series. The highly anticipated matchup kicks off at 6:30 p.m. this Sunday, Sept. 6, and will be broadcast nationally on NBC and Peacock.
Listed at a compact, powerful 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, Smith’s journey from the NIC-10 to South Bend is a testament to the exact kind of blue-collar work ethic we build here in our local programs. Hononegah fans remember him as an absolute force of nature—a star two-way football player and wrestler who flat-out dominated the conference.
He was named the NIC-10 Defensive MVP in 2023 and followed that up with a breathtaking senior campaign, sweeping both Offensive and Defensive MVP honors in 2024 for the NIC-10 champion Indians. But his motor never stopped at the chalk lines; Smith maintained a flawless 4.0 unweighted GPA (4.8 weighted), graduated fifth in his class, and earned a well-deserved spot on the 2025 IHSA All-State Academic Team…