Justin Smith seems destined to make his name on Wall Street.

But for now, the native Richmonder is quite content watching his own football stock soar like a rocket at Norfolk State University since arriving a few years ago as a lightly recruited freshman out of Benedictine College Preparatory.

There is a reason for the stock market reference.

Smith, now a graduate student, is the son of Pat and Aaron Smith, CEOs of A.W. Smith Financial Group.

Justin has been interning in the family business since he was 14.

“All through my life I’ve been working with money,” he said.

“My first goal after school is to play in the NFL. My second goal is to be a stock market adviser, maybe a sports agent ... something in financial management.”

In addition to inheriting a gift for analyzing numbers from his father, he also inherited athletic talent. Aaron Smith was a second-team All-Metro running back at Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School and later carried the ball for the University of Richmond.

Justin Smith received his first undergraduate degree from NSU last summer in business finance. He is on track to add a second degree in entrepreneurship.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound graduate student known as “Justo” has been piling up impressive credentials on the field since 2019. As a junior in 2019, he made 36 receptions for 639 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. NSU opted out of the 2020 season due to the pandemic.

This season in helping NSU to a 5-2 record, Smith has 34 grabs for 615 yards and six touchdowns. He had seven receptions for 147 yards in the Spartans’ win Oct. 23 at Howard University, spoiling the Bison homecoming.

Working with former Highland Springs High School star Juwan Carter, Smith is always a dangerous deep threat. For his career, he averages 18.6 yards per reception.

“Every time I get the ball, my goal is to score,” said Smith, who wears jersey No. 3 in green and gold.

While at Benedictine, Smith excelled in track as well as football. His personal records in spikes were 10.9 seconds in the 100-meter dash and a 45-7 triple jump.

For Smith, a late bloomer on the gridiron, NSU was the only FCS school to offer a scholarship. His other offers came from three NCAA Division II schools—Virginia State, the University of Virginia at Wise and Fairmont State University in West Virginia.

Smith’s work is far from done in Hampton Roads. The Spartans are very much in contention for the MEAC crown under first-year Coach Dawson Odums.

“I’m hoping for two rings—one for winning the MEAC and the other for the Celebration Bowl,” Smith said.

The MEAC champion will meet the SWAC champion Dec. 18 in the Celebration Bowl at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“I’m really looking forward to the team going to Atlanta,” Smith said.

In financial lingo, a bull market is when everything is looking up. The Smith & Teammates firm would like nothing more than to ride the bulls all the way to Atlanta.