Steve Smith (wide receiver, born 1985)

Steve Smith

Smith during the Giants victory rally at Giants Stadium after Super Bowl XLII.
No. 11     Philadelphia Eagles
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: May 6, 1985 (1985-05-06) (age 26)
Place of birth: Anchorage, Alaska
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
College: Southern California
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 51
Debuted in 2007 for the New York Giants
Career history
Roster status: Unrestricted free agent
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2011
Receptions     231
Receiving Yards     2,510
Receiving TDs     12
Stats at NFL.com

Steve Smith (born May 6, 1985) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC.

Contents

Early years

Smith played at Taft High School in the San Fernando Valley, where he set the state record for most receptions in a varsity career and led the Toreadors to two consecutive Los Angeles City Section Championship games (although they lost both games). He played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl with several of his USC Trojan teammates including Reggie Bush, LenDale White, and Sam Baker. He also played high school basketball and was a teammate with current New Jersey Nets point guard Jordan Farmar.

College career

Smith was one of the top two wide receivers by yardage at the University of Southern California. He was on the Maxwell Award 2006 watch list for the best player in college football and was named to the 2006 All Pac-10 team First Team[1] and to the 2006 All Pac-10 Second Team by rivals.com. Smith was named honorable mention on the SI.com All-American team and First-team All-American by CBS Sportsline. Smith was voted team MVP in 2006 by teammates of his 4th ranked Trojans team. Smith caught three touchdown passes from Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart in USC's 55-19 national championship/Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma.

Professional career

New York Giants

Smith was drafted in the second round (51st overall) by the New York Giants in the 2007 NFL Draft. His jersey number is currently 11. Smith only played in 5 games in the 2007 regular season (Weeks 1, 2, 15, 16, 17), recording 8 catches for 63 yards and no touchdowns. However, after returning from a shoulder and hamstring injury, Smith turned in an outstanding postseason as he became a reliable third down receiver for quarterback Eli Manning. He made two big catches at the end of the first half in Dallas, which set up a game-tying touchdown and caught five passes in Super Bowl XLII, including four on third down. Smith and the Giants prevailed over the New England Patriots 17-14. In the 2008 regular season, Smith became one of Manning's favorite targets, and not just on 3rd down as Smith led the Giants in receptions over Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress, who both started over Smith. Smith helped the Giants win the NFC East division.[2]

In the 2009 season, with the Giants' loss of Burress and Toomer, Smith and Domenik Hixon were named the starting wideouts. Smith opened the season explosively, and by the end of week 4, Smith led the NFL in receptions (34), receiving yards (411), and touchdown receptions (4).

In Week 15, in a game against the Redskins, Smith broke the Giants franchise record for most receptions in a single season, also becoming the first Giants receiver in history to make 90 catches in one season.

Smith was selected as an alternate in the 2010 Pro Bowl. He later replaced Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald on the 2010 Pro Bowl roster after Fitzgerald withdrew with an injury.

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 10, 2011, Smith agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list on August 13. He was activated from the list on August 27.

He had eleven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown before he was placed on injured reserve on December 12 due to a bone bruise in his knee.[3] He played in nine games for the Eagles, with one start against the Arizona Cardinals on November 13, in which he made five catches for 47 yards.

Career receiving statistics

Year Team Games Rec Yards Y/R TDs
2007 New York Giants 5 8 63 7.9 0
2008 New York Giants 16 57 574 10.1 1
2009 New York Giants 16 107 1,220 11.4 7
2010 New York Giants 9 48 529 11.0 3
Total 46 220 2,386 10.8 11

Personal

Smith's brother, Malcolm Smith, plays linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. According to his bio page from the NY Giants, Steve was a Public Policy/Management and Planning major at USC. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska,[4] raised in Woodland Hills, California and Canoga Park, California, but currently resides in Clifton, New Jersey.

Smith was robbed at gunpoint on November 25, 2008 after arriving home, according to Clifton, N.J., police. Smith had just returned to his house when he was approached from behind by man who put a gun to Smith's head, Clifton police Captain Robert Rowan said. "He said to him, 'Give me everything you got,' and Mr. Smith turned over his jewelry and money and cell phone," Rowan said. Smith suffered no injuries and the investigation is ongoing.

References

External links