Former Florida Atlantic cornerback and current Chicago Bear Cre’Von LeBlanc went through the process of trying to get to the NFL a year ago, and he knew exactly what could be going through the minds of dozens of former Owls looking to impress the pro scouts in attendance.

Defensive back Korel Smith has been tied to Florida Atlantic since before he was ever recruited. His two older sisters, Shavonne Adams and KaJanee’ Smith, attended Florida Atlantic. Adams graduated in 2013 as an art major, while Smith is currently a junior majoring in psychology. “[I was] familiar with the campus and I always had [FAU] as my No. 1 choice since 10th grade,” said Smith. “When my first sister went to FAU, she wanted me to go to the [football] game. Ever since then, I been coming to the FAU games.” In his sophomore year of high school, Smith recollects a class assignment where he had to state what colleges he wanted to attend. FAU topped his list.