Trey Smith was blessed with elite strength, athleticism, and talent, but to hear him tell the story, the Kansas City Chiefs lineman credits plenty of others for helping him get to where he is today.

Smith is the highest-paid guard in the National Football League these days, a relatively new mantle for Smith to handle after the Chiefs decided to reward him with a lucrative new contract extension on July 15.

The Chiefs are now in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the start of training camp, and they provided reporters with a few minutes with Smith to ask him more about the celebrated deal. While the extension was a reward for a job well done on the field, Smith knows he’s standing on the shoulders of those who helped him get to this point.

Trey Smith offered plenty of credit to Joe Thuney and others for getting him where he is today.

“I lost my mom when I was 15, and I made two promises to her: that I’d get my degree and play in the NFL,” said an emotional Smith. “I didn’t promise her I’d be the highest-paid, but I made a promise, man. My parents sacrificed so much for me to be here—so much. To have that moment with them is special. It’s special and it’s something I won’t take for granted. “

Not only were his parents so instrumental along the way, but Smith also says veteran players who know the demands of the position have also played a role. Former NFL vet Artis Hicks, who played in the league for a decade, received a special shout-out from Smith when he was asked about how he handled the waiting game for a new contract.

“I’ve got a veteran offensive lineman that trained me when I was a young kid named Artis Hicks. I had a lot long conversations and talks with him. He just told, ‘Man, at the end of the day, you can control the controllables.’ I can control my effort and my hard work. That’s all I can control at the end of the day. So obviously, I’m a faith-driven person. I just trusted in God and kept going to work.”

While with the Chiefs, All-Pro guard Joe Thuney served as the unit’s leader while Smith and his younger teammates like Creed Humphrey were coming up in the league. This offseason, however, the Chiefs dealt Thuney to the Chicago Bears, which opened up a void in the locker room and on the field.

“One, I miss him,” said Smith with a laugh when asked how the team will replace Thuney. “That’s the first thing right there. I miss Joe. The second part is, obviously, it’s the presence that’s missed. It’s not just the leadership on the field, but the things you guys don’t see, the times in the locker room keeping morale high. At the end of the day, it’s sort of a natural thing. Father Time phases is out a little bit.”

Smith, who is only 25 years old, is now one of the team’s leaders in the wake of Thuney’s depature. However, he believes Thuney’s example set the stage for the transition to be a successful one.

“Obviously, it’s Creed, JT [Jawaan Taylor], and I just in an older situation,” he continued. “It sort of sits on us with our age to be the leading presence int eh room. The beautiful thing about it is that Joe Thuney was such a beautiful leader that he gave us an example and a standard to set by. So for us, we know what it looks like to be great. For us, it’s just coming close to that.”