Alphonso Smith

Alphonso Smith

Smith in the 2011 NFL season.
No. 27     Detroit Lions
Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1985-10-20) October 20, 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth: Pahokee, Florida
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Weight: 193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
College: Wake Forest
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37
Debuted in 2009 for the Denver Broncos
Career history
Denver Broncos (2009) Detroit Lions (2010–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (2008) Second-team All-American (2007) First-team All-ACC (2007, 2008)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2011
Tackles 73 Sacks 0.0 INTs 7 Forced Fumbles 2 Total touchdowns 2 Stats at NFL.com

Alphonso Smith, Jr. (born October 20, 1985) is a professional football cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Smith played college football at Wake Forest. Smith was selected by the Denver Broncos during the 2009 NFL draft with the 5th pick of the 2nd round (37th overall).^[1]

Early years

Smith was born in Pahokee, Florida. He played quarterback and defensive back at Pahokee High School, and was runner-up for the state Player of the Year award as a senior after leading the school to a 13-1 record and the Class 2B state championship. He earned first-team all-state honors as a senior cornerback, totaling 27 tackles, four interceptions and one sack. On offense he threw for 2,400 yards and 32 touchdowns while also rushing for 640 yards and six scores as a senior. He also started on the school’s basketball team.

College career

Smith holds the ACC record for career interceptions (21), he broke the record (previously held by Dre' Bly of UNC) in the 2008 Eagle Bank Bowl in a rematch against Navy.^[2]

In 2008 Smith started all 13 games as a senior for Wake Forest, totaling 37 tackles (28 solo), seven interceptions, 20 pass breakups and two forced fumbles and tied for first in the nation in both interceptions and pass breakups. He was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and a consensus first-team All-American. He was named one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award.

As a junior in 2007, Smith started all 13 games as a junior for Wake Forest and had 44 tackles (36 solo), eight interceptions, three sacks, 18 pass breakups and four forced fumbles and returned three of the interceptions for touchdowns. He tied for first in the nation with a school-record eight interceptions and was First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and picked up Second-team All-America honors from Walter Camp. In 2006 he played 14 games (3 starts) as a sophomore for Wake Forest, registering 48 tackles (37 solo), three interceptions, four sacks, 11 pass breakups and one forced fumble. In 2005 Smith started all 11 games as a redshirt freshman and finished the year with 60 tackles (52 solo), three interceptions, two sacks, 12 pass breakups and one forced fumble. He received First-team Freshman All-America honors from ESPN.com, Scout.com and CollegeFootballNews.com. In 2004 he redshirted as a true freshman.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Denver Broncos

Smith in 2010 during his tenure with the Broncos.

The Broncos selected Smith in the 2nd round (37th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft. The Broncos traded their first round pick in 2010 in order to select him. On July 26, 2009, Smith signed a four-year, $4.08 million contract with a $2.15 million signing bonus. Smith can earn $750,000 through a one-time playing-time incentive that is guaranteed for injury. In addition, if Smith wins Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2009, he'll receive a $100,000 performance escalator. He can also earn a $50,000 workout bonus in 2011 and a $130,000 workout bonus in 2012. His base salary will be $310,000 in 2009, $395,000 in 2010, $480,000 in 2011, and $565,000 in 2012.

Detroit Lions

On September 4, 2010, Alphonso Smith was traded to the Detroit Lions for TE Dan Gronkowski.^[3] He had his first career Interception on 9/26/2010 against the Minnesota Vikings. The following week, he beat Packers receiver Greg Jennings on a jump ball for his second career interception. In a home game against the St. Louis Rams on 10/10/2010, Smith returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown in the Lions 44-6 win. Upon completion of the touchdown, the 5 foot, 9 inch Mr. Smith spontaneously broke into a joyful imitation of the arm-swinging, hip-swaying dance that the character Carlton Banks (Alfonso Ribeiro) often did on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" to the music of Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual". Asked about his unusual end-zone celebration dance after the game, Mr. Smith said "I had it ready to go. I hadn't really rehearsed it, but I rehearsed it in my mind". Against the Washington Redskins on 10/31/2010, Smith had a big interception late in the game to help the Lions comeback to beat Washington. He led the Lions in interceptions in 2010.

References

External links

• Wake Forest Demon Deacons bio