Life has a way of pointing Tago Smith in the direction of the football field, even going as far as inserting him into a specific position regardless of his original intentions.

At the U.S. Naval Academy, Tago arrived to kick off his freshman year planning to line up at safety, just as he had during a standout four-sport high school career. He opted to switch to the offensive side of the ball, eager to fill the role of slot back receiver, but soon found himself lining up under center for the Midshipmen. Injuries led to Tago being asked to chance his arm as the team’s quarterback, and for the good of the team, that’s where he remained through his senior year.

Fast forward eight years to Fayetteville, Georgia, where football fate again played its hand and directed Tago to the USA Football U.S. flag football national team tryouts in neighboring North Carolina.

“I recently got out of military and one of my close friends mentioned he was playing flag football and that I should too, but I was trying to get settled with my family and not really play any sports,” he explains. “My friend said there was a trial online and that I could try out with him, so I said I’d do some testing with him if it'll help him get you faster. I was just trying to be a helping hand at the time.

“But then I heard about the Olympics and that kind of sparked my interest again and I was like ‘wow maybe this could be a reality’ and my friend thought I might actually get this shot. From there I submitted my information, I got a call back and was super thankful for that.”

Tago participated in the U.S. trials at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with the goal of again representing his country – this time on the flag football field – ideally as a defensive back or receiver, but not as a quarterback.

“I do see that being my best position, back to my roots, but I think I’ve got to make a name for myself on both sides,” he says. “I want to be on that team as a safety or cornerback but actually being a hybrid player is something I can do because we’ve got a lot of guys that are super talented out here.

“I could even be a sneak attacker if we wanted to run a fake play and have me throw the ball. Passing as the quarterback for a couple games would probably kill my shoulder as I had an injury in college, but I can still throw a pass or two if I need to.”

Tago is no stranger to either flag football or international travel and if he claims a place on the U.S. roster for the IFAF Flag Football World Championships in August, he will likely be the most-traveled player on the plane to Finland.

“In the military we would have flag tournaments on different bases, so I’ve had some success there everywhere from Bahrain to Norfolk to Rhode Island to San Diego. The Navy took me all around the world and I love the international experience so to have it again, especially on this stage with USA football would mean the world to me.”

Tago’s responsibilities during his time serving with the Navy as a Surface Welfare Officer dovetail perfectly with the role he would be expected to play as a member of the U.S. national team. A SWO is defined as the backbone of the fleet leadership who provides by direction and leads by example.

“Pretty much we drive the ships, where one of the main focal points when we’re out at sea is for maintaining good order and discipline,” he explains. “Once we’re docked, we’re responsible for a division of 15 to 30 people, making sure we’re doing everything that we need to do to complete the mission.”

Tago hopes his next mission is again overseas, this time in Finland, again serving his country.

Details of the IFAF Flag Football World Championships being played in Lahti, Finland, from August 27-30 can be found at: www.FlagWC24.com