For Vincent Smith, the road to becoming a Division I football player has been far from smooth.

Smith, a cornerback headed into his senior season at Sandburg, has attended three high schools and made a big move from Florida to Chicagoland.

Then, in January, he and his family were struck by tragedy when his stepfather, Walter Mack, died.

“It was really surreal because I got my first offer from Toledo, and then only two days later, he died,” Smith said. “I remember having my last conversation with him and he was just saying he was really proud of me. I remember him coming and hugging me.”

Smith had his stepfather on his mind at Sandburg on Thursday when he announced his commitment to West Virginia.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Smith is rated as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports. He had received 10 Division I offers, narrowing it down to three finalists — which also included Iowa and Purdue — before choosing the Mountaineers.

“I believe West Virginia is the right place for me,” Smith said. “They have a great coaching staff. I really love the campus. On my visit, the players felt so together and I feel like I’ll really fit in.”

Before announcing his school choice and revealing a West Virginia shirt, Smith began the ceremony wearing a shirt that read “Mental Heath Matters” in honor of his stepfather.

“I made sure to wear that,” Smith said. “I’ve always been a big advocate for mental health but especially now because it hits so close to home. I feel like it’d be wrong for me to not be a big supporter of mental health and really just try to help anybody that needs help.

“Honest to God, I didn’t even know that he was struggling with as much of a battle as he was.”

Smith grew up in Orlando and attended high school at West Orange in nearby Winter Grove, Florida, as a freshman.

His family moved to the Chicago area before his sophomore year due to his mother’s job transfer. Smith played varsity football at Lemont as a sophomore before moving again and attending Sandburg as a junior.

“It’s been a crazy journey, but I like to embrace the hardships,” Smith said. “I really do like having to be outside of my comfort zone. It makes me have to learn how to adapt and how to fit with new people.”

Sheamus Murphy, who is going into his first season as Sandburg’s head coach, was a first-year assistant at the school last fall after stepping down as Eisenhower’s head coach.

Murphy confirmed that he and Smith hit it off fast.

“We were both the new guys, so we had that connection,” Murphy said. “He’s got an infectious personality and you could see, right away, that athletic ability I haven’t seen or coached before.”

Smith originally committed in March to Northern Illinois, but a couple months later, he had several new schools become interested, in part due to an impressive camp performance that he said included running the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

“The offers started rolling in,” Smith said. “I think the first one was Kentucky. I still really liked NIU. But once I got a few more offers, a couple Big Ten offers and then when USC offered, I was like, ‘I’ve really got to research.’”

Smith reopened his recruiting and went on more visits this summer. In the end, the whirlwind process led him to West Virginia.

“It feels great,” Smith said. “This day meant a lot to me. A year ago, I didn’t know I’d be in this position. My recruiting kind of blew up super fast and I’m really happy I even got this opportunity.

“I just thank God.”