It might seem like Akili Smith is watching his football life on rewind, starting with a blossoming start at Lincoln High School and a move into the college spotlight at Oregon.

The road for his son, Akili Smith Jr., is the same.

The twists and turns along the way, however, are about to become unrecognizable. The sport beyond high school has been tossed into a blender.

Oregon, where the elder Smith starred, hopped from the crumbling Pac-12 to the bullish Big Ten. The game is awash in NIL deals, cash-soaked signing carrots and the blur of the transfer portal.

And the No. 1 Ducks are preparing to play in the first expanded College Football Playoff.

The same. And wildly different.

“The landscape is definitely changing,” said Smith, who later became a starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals after being picked third overall in the 1999 NFL draft. “A lot of changes.”

One parallel between the quarterback-playing Smiths is transcendent talent.

The elder Smith threw for more than 3,700 yards and 32 touchdowns in his final college season. The younger Smith, at 6-5 and 225 pounds, helped lead Lincoln to a state football title this month as the 87th-ranked recruit in the country according to ESPN.com.

Similar output on the field in a suddenly dissimilar world.

Junior already is ahead of the curve in one area.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” Smith said. “Mentally, he’s ahead of where I was. When I played, the goal was to get a 2.0 (grade-point average) or whatever to stay on the field. He’s always maintained a 3.5 or higher.”

The biggest shift, more than a quarter of a century later, has been the transformation of players into businesspeople as teenagers.

The name, image and likeness era has blasted open the door for players to strike deals with companies to earn money at a stage historically reserved for amateurs.

Smith estimated his son already has 8 to 10 agreements before stepping foot on campus.

“Merchandise, juices, energy drinks, trading cards,” said Smith, when asked to list the range of deals. “To see a just-turned-18-year-old getting free products and checks for posting on social media, three posts in two weeks or whatever, you are definitely a businessman.”

If that sounds like a world that can warp a young athlete’s priorities, Smith shared another story.

Lincoln leaned heavily on a punishing rushing game that wore down opponents this season. That meant Akili Smith Jr. had to take on a lesser pass-game role at times, despite his ability.

While other top players tried to stack up eye-catching statistics to rise in the rankings and impress colleges, the younger Smith saw a bigger picture.

“You’ve got to put your stats to the side for the betterment of the team,” Smith the father said. “He said, ‘Dad, I’m OK with it.’ He wasn’t concerned about that. He was concerned with winning.”

Smith Jr. and the Hornets also had to overcome the lack of a home field, playing and practicing away from the high school.

The team bounced from Logan Memorial Educational Campus to Crawford High School, Southwestern College and San Diego State. The nomadic journey did not derail the ultimate goal.

“Every negative energy on Earth tried to stop Lincoln from doing what they did,” the elder Smith said. “You just never knew when it was changing. Then in the playoffs the next seasons are starting, lacrosse, soccer or whatever, so you’re really getting pushed around.

“Some of the strongest people I think I’ve ever seen in my life. To overcome what they overcame was amazing.”

Now, Smith Jr. transitions into the great college unknown.

Oregon is an NIL-rich program emboldened by the money and influence of Nike founder Phil Knight. A national title is within reach with a tournament that feels wide open.

“He’s going in with the attitude that he has to compete,” Smith said of his son. “At Oregon, you can’t go in and be developed (patiently). When (Chargers quarterback Justin) Herbert was there, he played as a freshman. We’re not in that space right now.

“Phil Knight is trying to win a national championship. So you’ve got to be ready.”

The Ducks will face the winner of Saturday’s Ohio State-Tennessee game in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The Smiths will be watching.

“It’s huge,” Smith said. “They’re No. 1, but you’ve got to finish as the No. 1 team in the nation. I’m not happy with the draw (facing the Ohio State-Tennessee winner). It seems like it should be 1 versus 12, 2 versus 11, but it’s not set up that way.

“At the end of the day, it’s an opportunity.”

A familiar road headed toward a fresh horizon.