Zuriel Smith
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| Position: | Wide receiver / Return specialist | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | January 15, 1980 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Richmond, Virginia | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 184 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Atlee | ||||||||
| College: | Hampton | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2003 / Round: 6 / Pick: 186 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Roster status: | Retired | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
Zuriel Smith (born January 15, 1980 in Richmond, Virginia) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist. He played for the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots.
Early years
Smith attended Atlee High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia, before moving on to Hampton University.
He set an NCAA Division I-AA record with 3 punt returns for touchdowns in one game (Hampton vs. Virginia State University, September 22, 2001).[1] In that same game, his teammate Terrance Patrick returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Smith graduated in 2002 with a BS in Biology and left as the school's all-time leader in receptions (189) and punt returns yards (1,145). He also had the record for receptions in a season (58) and in one game (13) (Hampton vs. South Carolina State University, 2001).
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft, to upgrade the return game of the special teams units.
In his NFL debut playing on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants on September 15, he returned five kickoffs for 120 yards and also returned four punts. But his best play came with 11 seconds left in the game, after he let a Matt Bryant kickoff roll out of bounds, just inches from the end zone. The penalty gave the Cowboys the ball at their own 40 yard-line with no time off the clock, and allowed them to tie the game and eventually win it in overtime (35-32).[2][3]
In 2003, he led all NFC rookies in punt return average (7.1 yards), earning Pro Football Weekly's All-rookie honors as a return specialist.
Smith was waived on September 5, 2004. After being out of football for a year, he was re-signed on January 13, 2005 and released on August 17.
New York Giants
He was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants on August 18, 2005 and cut on August 29.[4]
New England Patriots
Smith signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots on February 10, 2006 and was allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.[5] He was released on February 13, 2007.
Notes and references
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/sports/college-football-hampton-rides-its-special-teams-to-a-rout-of-virginia-state.html
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/133425/mnf-moments-no-37-a-giant-mistake
- ↑ http://articles.dailypress.com/2003-09-17/sports/0309170103_1_coach-parcells-bill-parcells-matt-bryant
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E6D91631F933A0575BC0A9639C8B63
- ↑ http://www.patriots.com/news/article-1/Patriots-Sign-WR-Zuriel-Smith/A5D307B1-237E-45D2-9B50-9B4DCD56949A
External links
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