Football player Derik Smith announces the Denver Broncos' third-round selection in the NFL Draft

The junior will be on the NFL Draft podium on Friday, April 26th

Pictured: Junior Derik Smith

Hope College two-sport athlete Derik Smith was selected to announce the Denver Broncos' third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in downtown Detroit.

The three-day NFL Draft will be broadcast on ESPN and the NFL Network. The second and third rounds begin on Friday, April 26th at 7 p.m

The junior health and physical education student from Niles, Michigan (Edwardssburg HS) competes with a prosthetic leg for the Flying Dutchmen in football as a defensive lineman and in track and field in the long jump, discus and javelin throw.

Smith's story has garnered national attention, including on the TV special “Courage in Sports: Gridiron Greatness,” presented by insurance company USAA on CBS last fall.

In 2023, Smith was named the recipient of the Hope Athletics Karen Page Courage Award.

As a child, Smith had part of his right leg amputated after a cancer diagnosis.

Last fall, Smith appeared in two games as a defensive lineman for the Flying Dutchmen football team and made one tackle, finishing the regular season with an overall record of 8-2.


Smith also represented Team USA at the 2022 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation World Games in Santo Antonio, Portugal. Smith won his division in the discus, long jump and 100-meter dash.