As Louisiana Tech had its team meeting last Sunday, head coach Skip Holtz told J’Mar Smith he wanted to speak with him following the gathering.

Having observed the former Meridian High School standout during the Bulldogs’ fall camp, Holtz had made a decision regarding the team’s starting quarterback position and wanted Smith to know he had been tabbed for the job.

“He gave me the information and said I had earned it and worked hard for it, and to keep working and doing what I’ve been doing and everything will be fine,” Smith said. “It gave me a lot of confidence — it was a confidence-booster.”

Smith will make his first collegiate start Saturday when Louisiana Tech travels to play Arkansas in both schools’ 2016 season openers.

Smith said he initially had to embargo Hotlz’s decision, but he was eventually able to tell his family, who were thrilled to learn of the news. Smith said his father, Kenny, would likely be in attendance Saturday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

“I think my dad is coming,” Smith said. “I think he’ll make the drive because he has old NFL buddies who live close by, and I think they’re going to come to the game. “(My family) is really happy for me. They just want the best for me, and for me to stay blessed. They tell me to keep praying — like I always do — and be humble and understand what I have to do. And to just keep listening to my coaches because they’re going to put me in the best situation, and they want to see the best from me and the whole team.”

Since receiving the news, Smith said he said he hasn’t approached this week’s practice regimen any differently than he has in the past.

To him, it’s business as usual.

“I’m not going to change my game,” he said. “Coach Holtz told me to just do what I do, and we’ll figure out what we can do to put the offense in the best situation to produce and get the next first down, the next play and just move the chains and stay on the field.”

Even though he has achieved his goal of starting at quarterback for a Division 1 program, Smith’s job is far from finished. He said he’s just getting started.

“I’ve been working toward a goal for a reason, and I know that work is not done,” he said. “I know I have to keep proving myself that I’m able to continue to be in that position and earn the trust of all of my coaches and the other players. I’m going to always try to put myself and the team in the best situation to win, and to do great things on and off the field.”