There are certain players in sports who simply demand attention.
The choreographed end zone dances, the excessive jewelry, the flashy nicknames -- all are characteristics of some superstar athletes concerned as much with image as with performance.
But standing alone among these displays of flamboyance is the player at the other end of the spectrum -- the one who quietly goes about his job without flash, without fanfare and without press. Some call him a utility player. Some call him a role player.
Those who know Duke soccer call him Steve Smith.
"Steve is just a 90-minute, every-game, first-team player," Duke head coach John Rennie says of Smith. "He's just solid, he's consistent, he's fast, he's determined -- he gives everything he has.
"He's the kind of player you want on your team."
It is exactly those characteristics that, over the past four years, have made Smith the player he is. Moved around from position to position, he has never truly found one single place on a Duke team to fit in.
He has played some defense and some midfield, played on the wings and in the center. This year he is slated to start as a marking back, a position he simply describes as "running around and kicking" other teams' top players.
But in bouncing from offense to defense and from man to man, Smith has quietly created a special role for himself, and one which he performs no matter the duty it requires.
"We used him last year as a midfield player, we've used him as a flank player, and this year he's gonna be a man-to-man defensive marker," says Rennie. "But I wouldn't be surprised if somebody gets hurt, if Steve Smith is [then] back in the center midfield where he was last year. He finds a position on the field and makes you play him."
Smith is truly cut out for such a role. Everything about the senior seems to scream "average," and nothing he does or says suggests even a hint of flamboyance.
He stands an undistinguished 5-10, and weighs in at the standard 170 lbs. He hails from Boise, Idaho, one of a string of western states known for producing superstars about as well as downtown Durham is for its bustling tourism industry.
His statistics for last year included only two goals and one assist, while his career stats show only seven goals and three assists for three years of off-and-on starting duty. He will most likely graduate from Duke without All-America, or even All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors.
On the field his skill level, by his own admission, is hardly comparable to those of his teammates or other players around the league. Off the field, he describes himself as "a horrible interview" -- shying away from any questions about himself -- and openly confesses that he'd rather water ski, duck hunt and fly fish in the summer than play soccer all year.
Yet Smith, like any good role player, understands that his job is not to fend off reporters and adoring fans, nor to earn a place in the school record books.
"Sometimes I wish I could get more touches on the ball, have the ball more," says Smith. "But we've got so may other key players, particularly this year in the midfield, there's no real reason for me to do that.
"When you get the ball a lot, it's a lot of fun, but there are guys that are a lot better at it than I am. I just want to play every game, do my job and get the ball to the other guys so they can do their's."
Such an attitude, and such a personality, will be indispensable this year if Duke is to repeat or improve upon its final four appearance of a year ago. This year's Blue Devil squad is stocked with talent to say the least.
Yet a team of superstars is seldom a superstar team, at least not without a player like Smith.
"I think the things I do best are just hard work and hustle," says Smith. "I love playing -- I like the competition of it -- and I hope if I play hard I can get everyone else to play hard around me. I don't care about working hard and letting them have the glory."
This year Smith assumes the role of tri-captain along with A.J. Siebeneck and Jason Kreis, and in so doing will be expected to take on even more of a leadership role. With a relatively young team, a tough schedule both inside and outside the conference and lofty preseason expectations, Smith's role will be more important than it has ever been.
And with one season left before he moves on -- possibly back to the Midwest, probably to medical school and definitely out of soccer -- Smith is ready to take on yet another challenge and assume yet another responsibility.
"I'm more excited about soccer than I have been in a long, long time, because last year was such an exciting year," he says. "Last year we had a lot to prove, and we were definitely really hungry. There's always got to be a little concern when you're ranked No. 3 preseason that that hunger's not there.
"But getting to the final four has made us want it even more. It was a great season, but it was a little short."
If this season is to be any longer, Steve Smith will have to play a key role. If the Blue Devils are successful, odds are, no one will ever notice the role Steve Smith played.
But then again, odds are, Steve Smith will never care.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.