When Evan Smith was looking at colleges in Indiana, the first thing he looked at was the majors.

Smith wants to major in exercise science and become a sports strength and conditioning coach for all athletics.

Trine University had Smith’s desired major, and when he looked at the football program, he thought there’s not a better Division III program he’d want to play for more than Trine.

So on Monday night in the Seymour High School cafeteria, Smith officially signed his national letter of intent to play college football at Trine.

“Trine was a great fit for me,” Smith said. “When I look at all the colleges here in Indiana, I look at the major specifically, which is exercise science, which Trine had. And when you look at football, DIII wise, there’s not a better program than Trine.”

Smith had taken a few trips to Trine before his commitment. Around February of his junior year, Smith took an unofficial visit, and he took another unofficial in August of his senior year to tour a lot of the football facilities.

That second trip was when Smith knew he wanted to go there, and this upcoming Saturday, Smith is going to Trine again to meet his roommates and other members of the freshman class.

“What clicked on my visit was how welcoming they were and knowing it was a good fit for me based on the size, the academics and how competitive their football team is,” Smith said.

Smith is coming off of a successful senior campaign at Seymour last fall in which he helped lead the Owls to their first Hoosier Hills Conference title since 2001.

Smith, an all-HHC selection himself, was a big part in changing the culture of Seymour football.

“Learning from the older guys and the coaches, being at Seymour, I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Smith said. “Extremely proud. That’s one of the best outcomes that could’ve happened this year.”

Smith was surrounded by friends, family, coaches and teammates on Monday when he signed his letter.

“It means a lot,” he said. “It means that people care and I had a role on them as a senior. It’s nice to know that they cared enough to come out, take pictures and say congratulations.”

Smith was recruited as a linebacker for Trine, but he couldn’t help himself asking about a potential role on offense. Whenever head coach Tyson Moore would throw Smith in for short yardage situations or to help block, Smith loved it.

“I definitely like to block,” he said.

One thing Smith hopes to improve on is just getting bigger and stronger.

On his trips to Trine, he noticed how much bigger and stronger those players looked. Even though that’ll take some time for Smith to develop, he already has the mental side of the game down.

“I think I can bring my smarts to the game. I love the X’s and O’s,” he said. “I’m just ready to compete and build my athleticism there.”

Smith said it was relieving on Monday to officially put pen to paper and make his college choice a done deal.

He will enroll early at Trine the first week of August to report for fall camp, and Smith is looking forward to taking this next step in his athletic and academic career.

“It’s just another way to compete. It’s a sport that I love, and it’s just very nice to know that I’m going somewhere that I look at as another home,” he said. “I’m just so excited. I can’t wait.”