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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Zachary Neel

A life outside of football at IBM awaits for Redskins rookie James Smith-Williams

You may know that James Smith-Williams, who the Washington Redskins drafted in the 7th round of the 2020 NFL Draft, is a highly-skilled defensive end that will have a decent chance of making the 53-man roster in 2020, but did you know that he’s already set up for life after football as well?

Smith-Williams is an extremely intelligent student who soared academically throughout college, earning a degree in business supply chain management, and he is pursuing a graduate certificate in policy analysis, according to Redskins.com.

He also spent his 2018 summer as an IBM intern studying robotic automation, and he already has a full-time job at IBM waiting for him whenever his football career is over.

“NC State and the football program opened that door for me,” Smith-Williams told the school website in 2019. “I work with students that are top of their classes at Ivy League schools, so to be exposed to their talents has been a valuable experience in making me a better employee and person.”

While Smith-Williams is undoubtedly excited for the road ahead as he attempts to carve out a patch in the NFL, it has to be comforting to know that there’s life outside of football, whenever he is ready for it.

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