Jaguars DE Dawuane Smoot breaks down delivery of daughter on ‘Good Morning America’

Jags DL Dawuane Smoot calls delivering his daughter, Ahlani Moon Smoot, at home the scariest moment of his life.

Jacksonville defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot goes up against some of the fiercest, strongest and toughest guys in the game on a weekly basis. But the self-described “scariest moment” of his life didn’t come on the gridiron. It was in his own home on Tuesday morning when his newborn daughter was delivered early.

His wife, Aumari, went into labor as the couple was about to leave to go to the hospital around 4 a.m. In the process of heading out of their home, Aumari fell, Smoot caught her, and with no time to go anywhere, Smoot had to help deliver the baby himself.

“I catch Aumari and hold her up and also catch the baby at the same time,” Smoot told Good Morning America. “Everything that was going through my mind was just make sure everybody’s ok.”

Thankfully for the Smoots, things went relatively smoothly from there, and Ahlani Moon Smoot was born at their home.

“She just took a big breath and she started crying, and we were like, ‘Ok, that’s great. We’re good,'” Smoot said.

The work wasn’t done there, though. Smoot called 911, and the paramedics talked him through the steps from there, including tying the umbilical cord.

“The paramedics are telling me, ‘Grab a shoestring,’ I’m like, ‘What do we need a shoestring for?'” he said. “They’re like, ‘You’ve got to clamp the umbilical cord,’ so I’m going, grabbing my shoes, I’ve never ripped out shoestrings faster in my life.”

Smoot is already having a breakout season with the Jags, earning three starts along the defensive line in the process. Now, he’s proven that he has what it takes to handle high-pressure situations, as well.

Dawuane Smoot shows impressive dad skills after helping wife deliver their newborn daughter at home

Congrats to both Dawuane and Aumari for the birth of baby Ahlani!

Dawuane Smoot has had quite the week, both on and off the field. After being one of the standouts of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first win of the season in London, it wasn’t long before he had to come up big as a family man as his wife, Aumari, had to deliver their second child at their place of residence.

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two were attempting to get to the hospital when Aumari fell to her knees and Dawuane leaped right into action to catch her. At that point, the two quickly realized that their baby daughter, Ahlani, would have to be delivered in their living room. 

With the help of the paramedics who walked Smoot through tying the umbilical cord over the phone, the delivery went smoothly and Ahlani was brought into the world at 4 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19.

With the week off, and stellar performances behind him on and off the field, we’re sure he’ll enjoy this time with his wife and their bundle of joy.

5 defensive players to watch in Jags’ preseason game vs. Saints

The Jags’ defense could put the NFL on notice Monday night with many around the nation watching. Here are some players on the unit to keep in mind when they take the field.

Week 2 of the NFL preseason is about to come to an end, but not before the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints take the field for a Monday night battle at Caesars Superdome. Both teams will not only be looking for their first preseason wins in the process, but looking to garner some momentum as regular season football is weeks away.

In their first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, the Jags’ defense had both some positive and negative takeaways. The most notable one was their stoutness against the run, but at the same time, they struggled mightily against the screen game. The hope is that they will be able to clean that up against the Saints, who are a team with notable threats in the backfield.

From an individual standpoint there are also a variety of players Jags fans will be tuning in to see tonight as the unit has some gelling to do. Here are five players we think will be worth watching as the Jags will once again be taking a national stage this week.

Jags’ pass rush viewed as biggest unanswered question

ESPN believes the Jags’ pass rush has a lot of questions to answer, which is fair when looking at how young the group is.

From hiring a new coaching staff, to adding various free agents and rookies, the Jacksonville Jaguars made a lot of moves this offseason. As a result, the group will look significantly different than it did in 2020 when the team won just one game.

However, one thing that still concerns fans heading into camp is the pass rush. The reason for that is because the Jags are young there, and if they are to have success on the edge, they will need two players under the age of 25 to lead them in Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson.

When it comes to this concern, fans seemingly aren’t the only ones worried as ESPN’s Mike DiRocco recently listed it as the Jags’ biggest unanswered question.

Pass rush? The switch to a 3-4 under coordinator Joe Cullen meant the team had to rework the defensive front, but it also allows Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson to move to their more natural OLB/DE positions. That should free up Allen, who had 10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019, to be more disruptive. The hope is the move does the same for Chaisson, who struggled last season as a rookie and had just one sack. But the only other player on the roster with double-digit career sacks is DE Dawuane Smoot (11.5), so the Jaguars will need to be creative to pressure the quarterback. Expect a lot of blitzes and alignments to try to create some confusion, but even if that works, the team should still prioritize adding pass-rushers in 2022. — Michael DiRocco

This offseason, the Jags added a veteran who is familiar with the new system in Jihad Ward and drafted Jordan Smith, too. However, Ward only has eight career sacks throughout five seasons, while Smith is viewed as a developmental rusher.

With that being the case, DiRocco is right about the Jags needing to draft a pass rusher in 2022. If not that, they could look for a notable addition in free agency.

As for the Jags current group, it should take a sizable step. Both Allen and Chaisson are playing in positions more natural to them, which should help them easily surpass their sack totals from 2020.

Jaguars DL coach Jason Rebrovich praises Dawuane Smoot during camp

Dawuane Smoot will be heading into his fourth year with the Jags and is having an under-the-radar camp in the eyes of his position coach.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense has had some strong moments on the practice field since putting on the pads despite the losses the unit has endured. The coaches have raved about players such as linebacker Josh Allen and rookie edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. However, there is another unsung player who has stood out when it comes to aiding teammates and performing on the field in fourth-year defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot.

Jaguars defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich especially has taken note of Smoot’s efforts and praised him while meeting with the media this week. In particular, Rebrovich discussed his leadership and his growth as a player.

“He’s having one heck of a camp. Sometimes it takes some guys some learning curve and understanding what we are doing from a technique standpoint and scheme standpoint and Smoot is doing one heck of a job,” said Rebrovich.

“In the classroom and on the field he’s becoming one heck of a leader. Sometimes you look around the room and you try to figure out who is the leader in that room, but Dawuane Smoot is one heck of a leader in that room.”

Smoot has been with the Jags since 2017 and has amassed 41 tackles and six sacks, which ranked him fourth on the team. All six of his sacks came in 2019 in only 38% of the snaps. The interesting caveat is that he ended the 2019 campaign with 12 solo tackles meaning he had a sack on 50% of his tackles.

Smoot will undoubtedly receive more playtime this year when looking at the losses the Jags have endured on the defensive line. Add in the fact that he’ll be playing on a contract year and it’s possible he could see a tremendous jump in play this upcoming season.

Dawuane Smoot named Jags’ biggest sleeper heading into camp

With uncertainty surrounding DE Yannick Ngakoue, Dawuane Smoot could receive an increase in snaps after having a pretty productive 2019.

With training camp coming up late this month, fans will finally get to monitor their favorite Jacksonville Jaguars before what will be a crucial season for the team. Of course, that includes notables like Leonard Fournette, Gardner Minshew, and Josh Allen, all of whom will need strong seasons if the Jags are to surpass their 6-10 record from 2019.

However, there also will be some unexpected veteran and rookie sleepers who have strong showings that may not be on the fan’s radar at the moment. In a recent article by Bleacher Report, writer Brad Gagnon singled out defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot to be that person for the Jags, as he’s set for a larger role if Yannick Ngakoue sits out.

The 2017 third-round pick couldn’t break through the stacked upper layer of the depth chart in his first couple of seasons, but he quietly made the most of limited opportunities in 2019 and could be ready for a larger role at the age of 25.

He can be extremely disruptive, he has tremendous closing speed as a rusher, and he’s a lot more intriguing than alternative options Lerentee McCray and Cassius Marsh.

Smoot’s emergence is something we somewhat touched on in the last episode of “Bleav in the Jags.” The reason for that is because he’s playing on a contract year and took a step in 2019. With the motivation for a new contract on his mind, it’s definitely possible he could come into camp with his hair on fire.

Smoot (listed at 264 pounds) added some weight last year and played both on the interior and the exterior of the defensive line. In the process, he was productive and accumulated the most sacks of his career (six). If Ngakoue sits out in hopes for a trade, it definitely would be a big plus for Smoot’s development as the Jags will need the defense to play to its potential if they are to exceed six wins.