LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Armorion Smith pressed his palms together over the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and leaned against the kitchen sink.
The 21-year-old Michigan State defensive back needed a moment in the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home he shares with five younger siblings. He has a lot on his plate, more than most college students and certainly more than most student-athletes.
His mother, Gala Gilliam, died a month ago after battling breast cancer and without a father in the family's life, Smith has become the head of the household while studying criminal justice and playing major college football. He became the legal guardian for four siblings on Sept. 11.
“My cards were given to me," Smith said softly with a steely gaze, standing on a small porch behind the home as the sun set on a recent evening. "I didn’t choose my deck of cards.”
His 19-year-old sister, Aleion, is in charge while he is gone for about 12 hours most days to be a student and athlete. Appreciating her selfless sacrifice, Smith said he hopes to help her find a way to start taking classes next semester while juggling her role with the family.
Smith looks and sounds determined to help his siblings be happy, healthy and safe. His teammates watch in awe.
“I couldn’t even begin to imagine if I was in his situation," linebacker Jordan Hall said. “He’s in a tough spot, but he is one of the strongest guys I have ever known.”
The family
Smith grew up in in Detroit, recalling how he was homeless at times and hopped from house to house to find places to sleep. He was a three-star prospect at River Rouge High School and attended the University of Cincinnati for two years.
After Smith's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022 during his sophomore season with the Bearcats, he transferred last year to be closer to home. The life lessons from his mom continued.
When Smith, holding his 2-year-old sister, arrived at a recent fundraiser, each of his other siblings introduced themselves to people there to support the family and shook their hands while making eye contact.
“That's from my mom,” he said.
She was trying to prepare him for what was to come before she died Aug. 19. She was 41.
“She used to tell me everything: ‘Get hard’ and all of that,” he recalled. “And I see why she was under a lot of stress.”
Smith keeps notes on his phone to help manage busy days that start before dawn, when he is up to make sure his two sisters and three brothers are awake before he leaves for school. Smith gets a lift from a teammate or a ride-hailing service to make the 4-mile trip to campus for therapy on his surgically repaired shoulders and meetings with the football team before going to classes and practice.
His eldest sister gets their 16-, 15- and 11-year-old brothers — Armond, Avaugn and Arial — ready for school. There are two varieties of Cap’n Crunch atop the refrigerator in a kitchen that didn't have a table or chairs during a recent visit.
The school-age brothers rely on a ride-hailing company to get them to school and back while their oldest sister cares for their toddler sister, Amaira.
“Me and my sister got to work together to keep this all afloat,” he said. “While I’m in college sports, she’s got to be able to take care of everything that I can’t do, like pick up where I left off, while I’m taking care of business.”
He and the siblings he is now responsible for at least have a home thanks in part to a GoFundMe campaign.
Student caregivers
While Smith’s story in unusual in college sports — the NCAA does not track the number of athletes whose day-to-day activities include caring for a dependent — a 2020 study from the National Center for Education Statistics found 19.5% of undergraduate college students had a dependent and 5.5% of them were responsible or non-child dependents. Other research shows student-caregivers are disproportionately from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
Ray Ray McElrathbey was a 19-year-old freshman at Clemson in 2006 when he took over custody of his 10-year-old brother because of his mother’s drug problems and his father’s gambling addiction. Initially, they lived solely off McElrathbey’s scholarship and later the NCAA approved a plan where donations were administered by a local bank and distributed to Ray and Fahmarr. His story was the subject of “Safety,” a Disney movie.
When McElrathbey was a child and saw “Angels in the Outfield,” it inspired him because he felt there were other children out there like him. These days, he does speaking engagements and shares his message of hope with young people.
“Just kind to speak to those kids in a similar situation like I was growing up and have them have something to inspire them is the greatest gift,” he said.
Tufts University professor Emma Armstrong-Carter, who has done research on children caregivers, said these young people show amazing strength and don’t want to be pitied.
“Isn't it incredible that these young people are able to overcome so many challenges and support their families in ways that are necessary and meaningful?” Armstrong-Carter said. “There's a need for more institutional support to help them thrive.”
Smith and his family are able to afford renting a house in the state capital, paying for utilities, bills, food and ride-hailing services thanks to waves of financial support. The GoFundMe effort has raised more than $60,000, and he makes some money through name, image and likeness deals. Michigan State has helped through a student assistance fund and fundraisers have been hosted at a McDonald's in Lansing and an IHOP in suburban Detroit.
The path ahead
Road trips are part of the calendar and the Spartans don't play two home games in a row until the end of the season in November, though two bye weekends will give Smith more time at home.
One of his mother's close friends, Yolanda Wilson, whose son, Nick Marsh, is a standout freshman receiver and former high school teammate, has been a source of support.
“I’m going to be there no matter what," she said. "That’s a promise I made to their mother. And they have everybody here backing them up. So, it’s going to be a hard transition as it is, but we’re going to be that tight-knit community and have their back.”
The love is not lost on Smith.
“Me and my family are very happy, very appreciative and grateful," he said. "There’s a lot of love Spartan Nation has shown us these past few months. It’s been a rough time, but to be able to take some of the stress off of my shoulders and show me a lot of love is a blessing and has warmed my heart.”
When Smith gave The Associated Press access to his home one recent evening, three siblings were upstairs in their bedrooms while a teenage brother was napping on a sectional couch in a living room without a TV or table. His toddler sister giggled between drinks from a sippy cup.
“It just puts a smile on my face to see them happy," he said while watching video clips from practice on his phone.
Smith's sadness comes and goes, but knows his mother would want him to carry on.
“I can feel her living through me," he said. "Almost like I hear her voice telling me how proud she is of me.”
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AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli contributed. Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage
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Larry Lage, The Associated Press
