An NFL miracle: The Jaguars defensive end who helped his wife deliver their baby

THE FIRST THING HE HEARD was a idiosyncratic lasting crossed his chamber astatine 4 a.m., breathing accelerated and violently successful the darkness, astir panting, and it definite felt similar the acold unfastened of a fearfulness movie.

"Whew."
Silence.
"Whew."
Silence.
"Whew."
Silence.

In the mediate of that night, Oct. 19, 2021, Dawuane Smoot needed a afloat 3 seconds to orient himself and recognize that helium was not, successful fact, connected the acceptable of "Halloween Ends." The elephantine Jacksonville Jaguars antiaircraft tackle sat upright successful bed, gathered himself and realized what was really happening.

He recognized the outline of his large wife, Aumari. She was eight-plus months astatine the time, truthful helium assumed she indispensable person begun having contractions. Smoot hustled retired of furniture and asked her what she needed.

"A shower," she said, inactive whewing hard.

She told him that portion she showered, helium needed to stitchery their worldly to spell to the birthing halfway they'd booked, and she wanted him to alert their midwife and past get their babysitter to travel implicit and ticker their 2-year-old son, Ahmir. "This mightiness beryllium it," she said.

As Smoot got started connected his tasks, helium heard the h2o crook connected ... and past crook disconnected again 30 seconds later. He was successful the surviving country erstwhile Aumari came downstairs successful a formal and said the past words helium was acceptable to hear.

"We're having the babe close here, close now," she said, and she began to autumn backward. Smoot helped her easiness dilatory to the floor. He thought possibly she was exaggerating -- however could they perchance spell from whewing to full-on childbirth successful 2 minutes?

But arsenic helium lowered her to the ground, helium saw the apical of their babe girl's caput popping retired and realized it was precise possible: The Smoots were going to person to present their ain baby.

THE SMOOTS TRIED TO BREAK UP. They truly did. Repeatedly. But they couldn't.

Aumari starts telling the communicative of their emotion by herself, successful an Airbnb successful Jacksonville that she and her hubby own. Dawuane is moving a small late, truthful Aumari begins a solo travel done what's been a rollercoaster that wobbled but ne'er wholly came disconnected the tracks.

They'd started dating arsenic 16-year-old kids going to 2 antithetic precocious schools successful the Columbus, Ohio, area. Dawuane got his licence first, truthful helium would thrust them astir to bash amusive stuff. At the extremity of each hangout, he'd propulsion into her parents' driveway, and past the day would conscionable support going. She'd conscionable beryllium successful the car with him for hours, and they'd speech and perceive to The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. Just a brace of teenaged aged souls.

Aumari was reluctant astatine archetypal to beryllium officially boyfriend-girlfriend. She had had 1 fellow earlier him and considers it to person been a toxic relationship, particularly for a teenager. As she began to autumn for Dawuane (pronounced Duh-Juan) she kept expecting him to halt being truthful benignant and loving.

And helium ne'er did.

"I don't cognize however to explicate it," she says. "Some radical don't judge successful young love. He was my champion friend. He still is my champion friend. I've ne'er met anyone that I meshed with truthful well. It was specified a bond."

But she thought that enslaved had to interruption aft precocious school. She was going to enactment location successful Ohio and spell to assemblage astatine the University of Akron, and Dawuane had a afloat thrust to play shot astatine Illinois. Aumari sat him down 1 evening successful her parents' room and said it was over.

"This is wherever we split," she said done tears. "You'll beryllium 7 hours away. We person to extremity the relationship. We'll person our abstracted assemblage experiences and if it is meant to be, we'll travel backmost together."

Dawuane started crying, too. But helium shook his head.

"No, let's springiness it a shot," helium said. "No."

Aumari tried to basal her ground. She didn't truly privation to extremity it, but she besides thought they couldn't past 4 long-distance years.

"This is going to beryllium excessively hard," she said. "I don't privation either of america to person spot issues and interest astir infidelity. We person to interruption up."

"No, Aumari," helium said, squeezing her hands into his monolithic palms. "No. We'll beryllium fine. We emotion each other. We tin marque it."

He conscionable kept refusing to fto her go, and Aumari yet fto him not fto her go. And for their freshman years, things seemed fine. Aumari hadn't been capable to get to galore of his games astatine Illinois, truthful they didn't spot each different until the summer. "The archetypal twelvemonth was okay," Aumari says. "But it was hard."

Then 1 day, precocious astatine nighttime the pursuing fall, Dawuane called. "I can't bash this anymore," helium said. "I haven't seen you successful forever. We person to interruption up."

He was steadfast astir it, but earlier they adjacent hung up, Aumari had started packing a bag. At the extremity of the call, she said, "I'm coming to spot you."

She drove each nighttime and knocked connected his doorway aboriginal the adjacent morning. They cried unneurotic and hung retired each day. "I was determination to combat for our relationship," she says.

She drove backmost the adjacent time and talked to Dawuane connected the telephone that night. He told her it was large to spot her ... but helium inactive wanted immoderate clip apart.

"I was truthful hurt," she says. "But you person nary prime but to respect it. He did conscionable different pistillate erstwhile we took that break, and helium had a fling."

A period later, Dawuane called her again. He said helium missed her truthful much, that the fling was over, that helium ne'er wanted to beryllium isolated again. "I cognize for a information present that there's nary 1 other retired determination for me," helium told her.

Aumari's bosom caved successful due to the fact that she felt the aforesaid way, but she wasn't definite however she could get past the period without him. "You can't conscionable food successful the oversea for a portion and past travel backmost similar this," she told him.

They hung up that time inactive not definite what would hap next. They kept talking connected the telephone for a fewer months, and they some felt an adjacent stronger transportation increasing betwixt them. Aumari was inactive struggling with however the breakup had unfolded, though, until a speech with a omniscient aunt of hers.

As she hits this constituent of the story, Aumari pauses for a infinitesimal connected the Airbnb couch. It's a signature infinitesimal successful her life, 1 of those conversations that is 25 seconds agelong but impacts you for 50 years. She wants to archer it conscionable right.

She told her aunt that she wanted to beryllium backmost with Dawuane, that helium was the emotion of her beingness and they some knew it. But she wasn't definite she'd ever beryllium capable to determination connected from that 1 period erstwhile they were breached up.

Her aunt told her that she could bash immoderate she wanted, get backmost unneurotic oregon enactment apart, but if she elected to reunite with Dawuane, she needed to forgive the fling. "He's a sophomore successful college," the aunt said. "If you get backmost with him, you person to fto that go. You're either in, oregon not."

She was in, and they've ne'er looked back. On this September day, arsenic she finishes up that story, the beforehand doorway opens and Dawuane walks in. He apologizes for being precocious for the interrogation -- it's a Tuesday, typically an disconnected time for the Jags, and a carnal therapy league had tally long.

"What each did I miss?" helium says, giving her a kiss.

"I was conscionable telling him astir the fling you had erstwhile you were astatine Illinois," she says, and she smiles.

Dawuane's eyebrows instantly raise. "You told him astir the fling? Oh nary ..." helium says, but he's smiling, too. "I was successful the doghouse for a while. But it each worked out."

This is 1 of those conversations buried successful a emotion communicative wherever you sometimes tin spot the seams, the spot wherever resentment tin grow. But that's not what is connected the faces and successful the voices of the Smoots. They look to genuinely admit much what that bump successful the roadworthy did for them than to them. It's someway go a lukewarm representation for them some -- a scar tin beryllium a coiled and a motion of strength, the aged saying goes.

For the adjacent fractional hour, the Smoots archer the remainder of their emotion story. They started dating again and Aumari near schoolhouse and moved successful with him during his last twelvemonth astatine Illinois. The Jags drafted Dawuane successful 2017 astatine No. 68 overall, truthful they relocated to Jacksonville, wherever they've been for each six years of Dawuane's NFL career.

Things went accelerated erstwhile helium got to the NFL. He projected during his rookie twelvemonth to Aumari, recovered retired she was large with their son, Ahmir, the adjacent twelvemonth and got joined successful 2019, erstwhile she was six months pregnant.

They decided to bash their wedding connected the beach, with zero guests. They'd been disquieted that the formation would beryllium a mob scene, but it rained each time and the formation was beauteous overmuch deserted. Then they began to interest that they'd beryllium getting joined successful the rain. But astatine astir the nonstop 2nd they got retired of the car to locomotion retired for the ceremony, the rainfall stopped and the prima snuck a fewer rays onto the bare beach. It was perfect. Waves crashing successful the background. One wedding authoritative and cipher else. Like backmost successful the time erstwhile they listened to Marvin Gaye successful the driveway, it was conscionable the 2 of them, Dawuane and Aumari.

"We wanted it to beryllium much intimate," Dawuane says. "We're some crybabies, truthful we some wanted to beryllium capable to conscionable outcry and accidental immoderate we wanted to each other."

A fewer months later, Aumari had Ahmir successful a location birth. She spent 4 hours successful a bathtub astatine their house, feeling relaxed adjacent arsenic contractions picked up. When Ahmir came, Dawuane was close determination beside the midwife and caught the babe arsenic helium arrived. They had their archetypal kid -- and a formal rehearsal for two-and-a-half years later.

Then, successful outpouring of 2021, Aumari recovered retired she was large with a girl, with a owed day of sometime successful October 2021, close successful the mediate of shot season. For this one, she decided to prosecute a midwife again but wanted a small much information than their location offered. So she cautiously picked retired a adjacent birthing halfway and booked it.

Then the unexpected 4 a.m. wake-up connected Oct. 19, 2021, rolled around, and the existent birthing halfway became their surviving room, with a nursing unit of Dawuane and Aumari Smoot.

EARLIER ON THE NIGHT of Oct. 18, 2021, the Smoots got Ahmir to furniture astatine 7 p.m. Then they cleaned up the location for an hr oregon so, hung retired and played astir connected their phones, and were successful furniture unneurotic astir 10.

When Dawuane heard the breathing, it was showtime. Aumari went into the ablution and said the aforesaid supplication she had said erstwhile she started feeling contractions for their son's birth. She had been laying successful the tub for a fewer hours erstwhile she yet said retired loud, "Okay, God, I americium acceptable for the baby. Ahmir, I americium acceptable for you."

Five minutes later, the midwife stood backmost and fto Dawuane drawback his archetypal child. Now, she said the aforesaid supplication and subbed successful Ahlani's name. Ahlani indispensable person heard her. When Aumari got to the bottommost of the stairs, she started saying, "We gotta go, we gotta spell right now," and Dawuane hung up the telephone and began to caput toward the door. That's the infinitesimal she slow-motion fell to the floor.

As Dawuane talks astir it now, he's not adjacent definite if you could telephone what happened adjacent "delivering the baby." The babe was fundamentally delivered: From the clip Aumari crouched down to the babe being retired was astir 5 seconds. "She changeable out," helium says. "It was similar a slippery, hot, bedewed fumble."

Aumari laughs -- hard -- listening to Dawuane picture the astir important fumble drill of his life. But it surely wasn't comic astatine the moment. When Ahlani came out, she was eerily quiescent for her archetypal fewer seconds, and Dawuane was terrified arsenic the newborn squirmed without making immoderate noise. "I was hyperventilating," helium says. "I was truthful scared."

Aumari told him to manus her the baby, and erstwhile helium did, she noticed her small girl's umbilical cord was wrapped astir her neck. She calmly unraveled it, thing she was told aboriginal could person been incredibly unsafe for Ahlani's breathing and humor travel to the brain. Dawuane stood backmost and thought astir what a superhero his woman is. As soon arsenic the umbilical cord was unwrapped from her neck, Ahlani made her archetypal sounds. "The champion crying I've ever heard," Aumari says.

Dawuane called 911. An ambulance was dispatched and would get soon after, but Aumari and Dawuane weren't definite what to bash astir the umbilical cord arsenic they waited. The 911 relation advised Dawuane that helium should effort to tourniquet disconnected the cord, and she had a pro extremity connected however to bash it. She told him to find a sneaker and propulsion retired the shoestring, past wrapper it tightly astir the umbilical cord, which helium did.

It was close astir that clip that they some noticed an unexpected 3rd idiosyncratic successful the country with them: Ahmir had woken up during the chaos and sat down successful the surviving room. He'd seen his sister arrive.

Dawuane ran past him into their chamber to drawback immoderate sheets -- the surviving country was a messiness aft the commencement -- and helium conscionable muscled disconnected the full bedspread and lugged it retired to commencement cleaning up. A fewer minutes later, an ambulance arrived and got acceptable to instrumentality Aumari to the hospital.

As Aumari and Dawuane got acceptable to leave, Aumari's ma and a nanny showed up to ticker Ahmir. But earlier they enactment her successful the ambulance, Aumari motioned to her son. "You tin travel implicit and spot your sister," she said.

He had waited truthful patiently, truthful un-2-year-old-like, until this moment, and past helium vaulted retired of his seat. He crouched down and touched her head, and helium looked from his ma to his dada and smiled.

"That was a tearjerker close there," Dawuane says arsenic Aumari nods along.

"That made maine outcry close there," she says. "Oh my god."

As they wrapper up this portion of the story, the portion wherever a household was born, Dawuane grabs Aumari's manus and they look astatine each other, and it definite is dusty successful here.

THE NEXT DAY, Aumari was released astir lunchtime. She's not large connected hospitals and wanted retired of there, and she besides wanted to get location to her son.

Dawuane alerted the Jaguars that they had had the babe and the circumstances astir the location birth. He was told to instrumentality his clip -- it was a Jags bye week, anyway.

Almost immediately, though, the communicative had blown up online ... and besides wrong the squad facility, which was mired successful an all-time unsmooth play of losses and each the trappings of the Urban Meyer debacle year. It's not hyperbolic to suggest that possibly the commencement of Ahlani Moon Smoot mightiness person been the item of the Jags' year.

Dawuane notes that cipher was much excited than Meyer himself. "He was ace happy," helium says. "He was the astir blessed idiosyncratic retired of everybody."

Meyer was talking to him connected the telephone that time and told him, "I privation the full squad to perceive your story." Pretty soon, Dawuane was telling the full communicative -- again -- to the full team, packed into an auditorium to listen. He could perceive cheers and screams from his teammates, and Meyer kept interjecting his amazement astatine the story.

When helium hung up, helium told Aumari however giddy everybody was, and they were some a small mystified. Everything had conscionable benignant of happened. They were arrogant of it, for sure. But they didn't recognize what each the fuss was about.

The remainder of the satellite wanted each the fuss. The Jags PR unit was inundated with interrogation requests for the Smoots, and they did CNN, GMA and others implicit the adjacent 24 hours. It was a whirlwind viral moment, and it stretched connected for a bully 2 oregon 3 days. Dawuane took astir of that week to beryllium with his woman and kids. Then it was backmost to enactment the adjacent week, and Dawuane had 1 of his champion games against the Seahawks connected Oct. 31, finishing with 1 sack and 2 TFLs.

His household concern had changed. And truthful had he.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, Dawuane was a unicorn jock -- a disruptive antiaircraft lineman who besides was 1 of the nation's champion 400-meter hurdlers. Think astir that skillset for a second: accelerated and agile capable to tally hurdles, with the stamina to bash it for a 4th mile.

But involvement from assemblage shot programs was tepid, astatine best. He played astatine a smaller Ohio precocious school, Groveport Madison, that hadn't had overmuch success, truthful helium wasn't successful beforehand of that galore recruiters. He knew helium could play astatine a Power 5-level, though, and truthful did his coaches. "I ever thought Dawuane was large enough, astute capable and accelerated capable to play successful assemblage and, ultimately, the NFL," says past Groveport coach, Tim Brown.

So Brown hatched an unconventional program to gully attraction to Dawuane: He made him a punt squad gunner.

It worked. Dawuane had the physicality to chuck the opposing team's blockers connected the outside, and past helium could zip down the tract and stroke up returns single-handedly. His play looked unthinkable connected film, and recruiting involvement picked up.

So did opposing punt instrumentality squad awareness. Dawuane got a rep for his gunner game, truthful teams began to effort 2 antithetic tactics. Some lined up a 2nd blocker connected Dawuane outside, which created immense mismatches crossed the remainder of the field. Other teams enactment 2 punt returners backmost and asked whoever didn't drawback the shot to find Dawuane and effort to assistance artifact him downfield.

One clip a squad tried some tactics astatine the aforesaid time, with 2 blockers connected Dawuane and 2 returners back. Dawuane powered done his blockers astatine the enactment and got downfield to prosecute with the blocker ... and plowed close done the feline into the returner, tackling some players.

Alex Golesh, past the Illinois choky ends manager and recruiting coordinator, was blown distant by what helium saw connected film. He was an Ohio kid himself, truthful helium instantly deed it disconnected with Smoot and helped get him to prime Illinois implicit Indiana, Purdue and Cincinnati. "We were ever trying to find a kid who isn't large yet but could be," says Golesh, present Tennessee's violative coordinator. "I ever thought, if this kid fills out, he's got a accidental to beryllium truly good. He was tough, and astute and athletic."

Dawuane had a bully vocation astatine Illinois, finishing with 16.5 sacks successful 44 vocation games. But helium describes his presumption connected shot backmost past arsenic "It is what it is." He loved the sport. He loved his team. He wanted to beryllium good. But helium had the nuanced presumption of the athletics that sometimes gets a large thumbs down from die-hard fans and adjacent immoderate scouts who deliberation speech of extracurricular interests and work-life equilibrium are large reddish flags. Football was what it was -- thing helium happened to beryllium bully at.

He had awesome performances astatine the Senior Bowl and the scouting combine. There was immoderate first-round buzz connected him (ESPN draught adept Todd McShay had him arsenic precocious arsenic No. 24 wide astatine 1 point). The Jags yet took him successful the 3rd round, and helium played good aboriginal successful his career.

Something ne'er rather clicked, though. He was productive his archetypal 2 years successful Jacksonville but had nary sacks. Then, close astir erstwhile Aumari got large and past they got married, Dawuane began to consciousness a small different. He didn't attraction more, oregon enactment immoderate harder. He knows it sounds a small hokey, but present it's similar each measurement helium takes connected a shot tract present feels much important. Football is what it is, but more.

He rattled disconnected six sacks successful 2019, past 5.5 successful 2020, six successful 2021 and had 1.5 done six games this year. He's playing chiefly arsenic a rotational antiaircraft tackle, truthful those numbers volition apt ne'er beryllium treble digits. Dawuane's successful the 2nd twelvemonth of a two-year, $10 cardinal deal, truthful helium needs a large season. As helium talks astir football, helium and Aumari are seated broadside by broadside successful their Airbnb. They wanted to archer their communicative present due to the fact that they person immoderate renovations happening astatine their house.

They ain a fewer properties successful the country and anticipation to enactment successful Jacksonville for the foreseeable future. They person nary plans for much kids, but they alteration their mind, oh, each 13 minutes. In the meantime, Aumari is funny successful opening up her ain daycare successful summation to the properties they manage.

An hr earlier, Dawuane had walked successful and sat down 3 feet distant from her, close arsenic she was talking astir The Fling. Now Aumari is talking astir the commencement of Ahlani and spends a 2nd reasoning astir however she would people Dawuane's show arsenic a babe deliverer.

"As a father, arsenic a husband, arsenic a midwife, he's ... a million," she says. "This antheral close present is heaven-sent."

As she speaks, Dawuane looks happily uncomfortable astatine each the praise, and helium lets retired of bashful laugh.

"You are," she reiterates. "You're virtually everything. He did excellent. I couldn't person asked for a amended partner."

Dawuane is simply a small sheepish, and it's amusing to ticker an explosive 264-pound antiaircraft tackle effort to Homer Simpson-in-the-bushes meme himself into the couch. But arsenic helium struggles to process his wife's compliment, helium reaches retired his manus and wraps his fingers wrong hers, and erstwhile she gets done talking, she repositions person to Dawuane connected the couch.

They some support talking for a while, backmost and forth, and it seems similar whichever 1 isn't talking shuffles their assemblage six inches person to the other.

By the clip they decorativeness talking, they'd told the communicative of them, of warring for them, of Ahmir arriving and Ahlani really arriving, and they are wholly smushed against each other, similar 2 magnets pulling toward 1 another.

As the speech concludes, they some basal and question goodbye, past beryllium backmost down connected the couch. Just the 2 of them, Dawuane and Aumari.