Irv Smith Jr. always resisted.

His dad, former NFL tight end Irv Smith, would constantly inform a nine-year-old Smith Jr. of his future as a tight end. Dad played that spot, and uncle Ed Smith won a Super Bowl at that position. Genetics demanded Smith Jr. would eventually grow into a tight end.

“He’d say, ‘Nope, I’m going to be a wide receiver,” Smith Sr. told 247Sports. “I said, ‘OK, look at me. I played at 265. You’re going to be big like me.’”

Father learned to take a long-term view on athletics at Notre Dame.

A tight end with an affinity for baseball, Irv Smith wanted to be Bo Jackson. But after two years hacking at curveballs, Smith realized his future lay on the gridiron. Son would learn the same over time. After playing basketball until eighth grade to avoid early football injuries, Smith Jr. debuted as a wide receiver. He played wide receiver in ninth grade, too. By 10th grade Smith Jr. split time as a tight end/wide receiver for Brother Martin High School in Louisiana. The next year, Smith Jr. embraced the inevitable.

“He’s meant to be a hybrid tight end,” Smith said. “He’s a perfect tight end for what’s going on today. He can be a slower receiver or a blazing tight end.”

They say father knows best, and Smith’s advice to his son proved prophetic.

Three years into Smith’s Alabama career, he’s on pace for the best receiving season by a tight end in Crimson Tide history. Smith Jr.’s caught 35 passes for 613 yards and seven touchdowns. For perspective, 2016 first-round pick O.J. Howard finished his Alabama career with seven receiving touchdowns.

Alabama’s offense opened in a profound way under Tua Tagovailoa this year.

Smith, a multi-faceted weapon, was uniquely positioned to take advantage of that as a both a modern tight end archetype and a second-year starter who’s evolved enough to seize his chance.

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to show my talents and make plays,” he said.

***

Like most Alabama players, Smith Jr. did not lack for collegiate options.

A long-time Texas A&M commit, Smith Jr. decommitted from the Aggies in the wake of a pair of high-profile QB transfers (including one Kyler Murray) and a coordinator change. Texas made Smith its priority target from that point forward. In a cycle where his high school teammate Peyton Aucoin, a fellow tight end, signed with the Longhorns, Smith Jr. seemed close to a lock as Texas prepared to see him for an in-home visit a week prior to National Signing Day.

But Smith had visited Alabama the week before. In the hours prior to Texas’ in-home visit, he told Charlie Strong not to come. He’d given his verbal to Nick Saban. In other words … the Tide turned quickly.

Smith Jr. would be the Tide’s third tight end in the 2016 class. Saban told Smith Jr. he’d sit behind Howard for a year and then he’d have a chance to play. Texas, lacking a standout tight end going on nearly a decade, offered playing time instantly.

“It was a no-brainer,” Smith said.

Smith Jr. never minded competition. As a junior at Brother Martin, Smith Jr. went head to head with LSU tight end signee Foster Moreau, a high-profile prospect in the 2015 class. Moreau and Jesuit High School got the better of Smith and Brother Martin in the first half of the basketball game. Then things shifted. As Brother Martin football coach Mark Bonis remembers it, Smith “dominated” leading Brother Martin to a victory.

“It’s just kind of in his blood,” Bonis said.

Four years later, Smith Jr. remembers that game vividly. He wanted to prove, though younger, he was the better athlete. That’s why, despite a front-loaded depth chart and busy tight end class, Smith Jr. picked the Tide.

Saban’s reshaped college football history with his ability to lure players like Smith to a roster of players with similar tools. Once on campus, the Tide’s development fosters because the nation’s most talented players push each other.

Iron sharpens iron is a popular phrase in Tuscaloosa. Smith Sr., who picked Notre Dame after its 1988 national championship, sees similarities between the two programs. He also knows the two programs aren’t close with Saban’s recent success.

“Alabama has taken over as the new Notre Dame,” Smith Sr. said. “Notre Dame’s won seven championships. Alabama’s won 17 national championships. If you look at history and legacy it’s not close.”

Howard mentored Smith Jr. in Year 1. In the time since, Smith Jr.’s developed rapidly. Just as importantly, the offense evolved around him. Due to Tagovailoa’s emergence, the Tide have already attempted more passes through 12 games than they did in 15 a year ago.

Those extra targets have often found their way to Smith.

Smith is an offensive Swiss Army for Alabama. He’s caught passes this year from a multitude of places within Alabama’s formation – in-line, split out, as an H-back or upback – and is an improved blocker, allowing him to stay on the field for longer stretches.

“He’s gotten better and better and better as he’s been here,” Saban said earlier this season.

***

If a son is a reflection of his father, Irv Smith Jr. is closer to his father’s clone.

Same name, same towering physique, same athletic ability and, of course, same position. But Smith Sr. admits his son is far and away a better player. Smith Jr. easily runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, and there’s a chance with training that could drop into the 4.4 range. Smith Jr. is stronger than his dad too. Smith said he benched pressed 325 in the NFL; Smith Jr. works out with 450 easily. Smith Jr. plays at 246 pounds, and dad thinks the 6-foot-4 stalwart could add another 10 comfortably.

Most importantly, Smith is only 20. He won’t turn 21 until next August.

“He’s head and shoulders a better tight end than I was,” Smith Sr. said. “I really think he’s going to finish his career as an elite tight end, and his future will only be that much better because he’s still only 20 and still developing.”

That leads to the question of the NFL.

Smith said he and his son have already discussed Smith Jr.’s NFL future, and they’ll do so further whenever Alabama’s season ends. “Run through the tape,” Smith told his son. Twenty-five years ago the New Orleans Saints drafted Smith No. 13 overall. Smith Jr.’s often tells his dad, “I want to go higher than you.” Some mock drafts project Smith Jr. as a first round pick. With the SEC Championship and playoffs on deck, opportunity knocks for Smith Jr. to cement that status.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to where he’s projected to go,” Smith Sr. said. “Lord willing he’ll be in position to make a good decision and will be rated as high as possible to make the decision easy on him.”

Asked to look back on his recruitment and an alternate Texas reality, Smith Jr. struggles to blink the crimson out of his eyes. “I don’t know, honestly,” Smith Jr. said. “They’ve done everything they told me they would so far. I feel like I’m becoming the player I want to be.”

Those expectations aren’t meek.

Smith Jr. had no issues sitting behind Howard, but his goals go beyond being a first round pick or following in his family’s football footsteps. The stubborn wide receiver of old seeks to define football’s new era of hybrid tight ends.

“I feel like with the skill set I have,” he says, “I can be at the top.”