By Dom Cosentino | www.NJ.com

FLORHAM PARK -- When the Jets play the Dolphins on Sunday in Miami, it will mark the end of Geno Smith's first year as an NFL quarterback—a full season in which he will have started all 16 games.

But playing in South Florida will also be a homecoming for Smith. He grew up in nearby Miramar, Fla., but his family also has a home that's even closer to Sun Life Stadium. Smith's mother, Tracey Sellers, graciously chatted with me by phone this afternoon from the Miami area. What follows is a transcript of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: What do you make of Geno's first season in the NFL and with the Jets?

A: I'm not a coach, so I don't get into whether he's played his best or his absolute best. I leave that for his dad and for his uncle and other family members, the football stuff. The relationship with my son is simply mother-son, and praying before and after football games, and worrying about Geno Smith, the young man. There's just some things, as a mom, that you just don't get into. You allow football to be played out between the white lines, and there can only be one winner. You always hope for the Jets to be the winners. As a mom, I worry about, "Is he eating well?" "Does he need me to do anything?" I'm here in Miami, and he's very far from me. I'm just making sure little things around him line up, so that he can be focused simply on football.

Q: Would you say, as his mom, that he's getting the things he needs and that all of that has gone well for him?

A: Oh, yes. But of course. He has a wonderful support system. His support system is very detailed and really catered to a lot of things that he needs, from the housekeeper to the buying of the groceries to the travel arrangements. There's so much more to these young men that have to play this game. And for him, he doesn't have a wife, he doesn't have kids—like most of them that are just going into the league, they don't have families of their own, so they're still attached to their parents, in some way. He has a great agency in Roc Nation—everything around him goes tick-tock. When he goes to work, he gets up very early—5:30, 6 o'clock—and sometimes he doesn't come home until late—7 p.m. You know how he goes—he's a film junkie, and so when he's in his zone, watching film, he gets into that mode, and he comes in very late. But everything runs very well for him.

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