It's the eve of the Notre Dame-Navy game, and Mids safety Josh Smith is pumped. After all, he grew up in Indiana, and he wouldn't mind showing everybody back home what they missed out on by not offering him a scholarship two years ago.

Of course, he's not talking about the folks in South Bend, pulling for the Fighting Irish. But he'd like to show a few things to the people at Purdue, the state's other football power.

Sure, Smith revered Notre Dame growing up in the small town of Attica, population 3,500. What Indiana kid didn't? But in his heart, he always wanted to be a Boilermaker. After all, the campus was just 20 minutes away, and his senior year he scored 63 touchdowns and was named the state's USA Today Player of the Year.

His 449 points were four shy of a national high school record. Smith understood why the Irish wouldn't have much interest in a kid who played Class A football (Indiana's smallest classification), but Purdue was another story.

"Notre Dame has such a great tradition, you can't help but follow their games," Smith said. "But I've always liked Purdue. I wanted to play there, and I really thought it was in the bag. They came and watched me one game my senior year, and I had like 260 yards rushing. I intercepted two passes and ran one back for a touchdown. I figured, it's in the bag. But weeks went by and they didn't call me."

Smith found out later that a fraction of a second made all the difference.

"Eventually I talked with one of their coaches and he told me it came down to me and another linebacker they were recruiting," Smith said. "He was the same height and same weight, but his 40 time was a tenth of a second faster than mine. They chose him instead."

Smith said he found out later Purdue eventually ended up kicking the kid off the team.

"I had to chuckle a little bit when I heard that," Smith said. "Oh well. I'm happy with how it worked out."

Navy is awfully happy too. Only a sophomore, the 6-foot-2, 197-pound Smith has blossomed into a hard-hitting, athletic free safety with a lot of upside. Though he began the year as a backup, he's probably been Navy's best defensive player this season, leading the Mids in tackles with 87.

"As soon as Josh became a starter, he started to emerge as a leader," said defensive coordinator Buddy Green. "He gets people lined up right and he makes plays. Nobody on our team studies more film than he does. He just does all the little things to get better."

Mostly, Smith just has a knack for finding the ball carrier. In Navy's first game of the year, Smith was unexpectedly thrown into the fire when starter Lenter Thomas injured his knee, and he responded by making 14 tackles and recovering a fumble in a 38-7 win against Southern Methodist. He eventually earned a permanent spot in the starting lineup, and went on to make 18 tackles against Rice and 15 against Boston College.

"We needed someone to step up as a leader, and I was a little hesitant at first," Smith said of the Mids' defense, which has yielded 40.8 points a game. "But I figured, I've always done it in the past, why change now?"

All told, it's not too shabby for a kid who didn't even crack the junior varsity lineup last season.

"I don't think anyone outworked him during the summer," Green said. "During two-a-days, he just kept climbing the depth chart because he was making plays in every scrimmage. I know he'll keep working hard. I think he's got a tremendous career ahead of him."

Smith knows that the questions that dogged him in high school are still there: Is he fast enough? Can he run with the other team's best receiver, stride for stride? Against Tulane, he made his first career interception, but he also got beat deep the first series of the game and missed a handful of tackles.

"I'm trying to forget everything about the Tulane game," Smith said. "It was by far the worst game of my entire career. I see myself on film and I can't believe it's me out there. It's been killing me just sitting here for two weeks waiting for the chance to play again."

No. 9 Notre Dame now offers that chance.

"I love that we have the opportunity," Smith said. "I'm going to take care of my role, and if that means making big plays, I'll make them. If we give our best, who knows what can happen?"

You never know. That other Indiana school might even take notice.

Next for Navy

Opponent:No. 9 Notre Dame (8-1)

Site:Ravens Stadium

When:Tomorrow, noon

TV/Radio:Chs. 13, 9/WJFK (1300 AM, WNAV (1430 AM)

Line:Notre Dame by 28