National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame Press Release
Recent North Webster graduate Hudson Smith has been named to the 2026 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Team of Distinction, honoring the nation’s top high school scholar-athletes who represent the future leaders of the game and have excelled at the very highest levels in the classroom, on the field and by making an impact in their communities.
Smith, who was an offensive lineman, is one of 63 players honored nationwide.
“The NFF Team of Distinction represents everything great about the future of football,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “These remarkable young men have pushed themselves to succeed in every arena imaginable: in the classroom, on the field, and in service to their communities. Together, they have compiled an extraordinary record that includes valedictorians, all-state selections, Eagle Scouts, team captains and community leaders.”
Selected from a nationwide pool of 3,500 outstanding candidates identified through the NFF Chapter Network, the members of the team all played their final high school football season during the 2025-26 school year.
Each NFF chapter is permitted to nominate only one player annually, making inclusion on the Team of Distinction one of the highest honors awarded at the grassroots level of amateur football. Criteria to make the team include (but are not limited to) academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement.
This year marks the ninth year of the NFF Team of Distinction, continuing a 73-year tradition of the NFF Chapter Network honoring the nation’s top scholar-athletes at the grassroots level. Since 1954, NFF chapters have served as the driving force behind the Foundation’s mission to build leaders through football, recognizing excellence while strengthening communities across the country.
Today, the NFF Chapter Network includes more than 12,000 members and positively impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 5,000 high schools annually. At the center of that mission are the chapters’ annual scholar-athlete awards banquets, which collectively honor more than 3,500 outstanding high school football players each year while providing more than $1 million in scholarships to support their academic futures.
Smith was nominated by the area NFF S.M. McNaughton Chapter. In March, Smith was one of two players from Northwest Louisiana schools to receive $1,000 college scholarships from the McNaughton Chapter.
Smith had a 4.0 GPA and was the 2025-26 North Webster Student of the Year. He was elected Governor at the statewide 2025 Boys State congress last summer, and is Springhill’s Mr. Main Street for 2026.
He is National Honor Society president and vice president of the student council at North Webster, and a state tournament qualifier in tennis along with being a two-time all-district center for football coach Christopher Wilson.