West Limestone football coach Shelby Davis never coached Cole Smith, but he knows just how important the former Wildcats standout was to the football program, the school and the community.

He learned that not long after he took the job, when Principal Russ Cleveland was giving him a tour of the athletic facilities.

“When I first arrived at West, and Mr. Cleveland was walking me through the facility, there was one locker that was still decorated and everything,” Davis said. “He explained the story to me, and I just knew how important (Cole) was to the community.”

Smith was a senior who had just finished his final season at West when he was killed in a one-car accident Nov. 24, 2016. Then-coach Jordan Cantrell left Smith’s locker unchanged, and when Davis took over as head coach before the 2018 season, he kept the locker the same.

“I’ve heard so many stories about him from other players and coaches that even though I didn’t coach him, I feel like I know him,” Davis said. “He was a real charismatic guy who was liked by everybody.”

Recent renovations to the West Limestone athletic facilities meant a decision had to be made about Smith’s locker. The former varsity locker room is now being used by junior varsity and middle school, while the varsity team had a new locker room constructed.

Davis said he considered moving Smith’s entire locker to the new varsity locker room so his brother Easton Smith, a rising freshman, could use it, but the way the lockers were constructed made that impossible.

So, he did the next best thing. He had the locker door removed and presented it to the Smith family last Thursday.

“It was an honor and a privilege to present that to them,” Davis said. “It was a special moment for them and their family.”

Cole Smith’s mother, Missy Smith, said receiving his locker door, complete with the decorations that graced it when Cole was playing, means so much to her and the rest of the family.

“It was a very touching thing,” she said. “That was a way for us to have a piece of Cole’s football history. Coach Davis didn’t have to do that.”

Davis said the now doorless locker will remain empty. He asked the Smith family to come up with something to put in the locker that will remind people of Cole whenever they see it.

“I asked them to type something up or create something they want our players and coaches in the program to know about Cole,” Davis said. “We’re going to hang that in that locker, and that locker is going to remain open and vacant. As our players and coaches come through this program, his story will be there, and we can honor him and continue his legacy.”

“As a parent losing a child, that’s something you don’t want people to forget, your child,” Missy Smith said. “It is really special to us that (West Limestone has) continued to keep his legacy and his memory alive.”

Cole Smith’s legacy will live on through his brother, who will wear Cole’s No. 27 during his varsity career. The number had not been used since Cole died, but Davis asked the family if Easton would like to wear his brother’s number and they readily agreed.

“They gave us Cole’s jersey so there wasn’t a No. 27 anymore,” Missy Smith said. “But when Coach Davis came there, he contacted me and said he had been told a lot about Cole and asked if Easton would want to wear that number. We said he absolutely would, so he ordered that number jersey for him. Easton was really close to his brother, and Cole’s death was really hard for him. It will be very special for him to be able to wear his brother’s number.”