ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - With 15 players suiting up for various teams in the National Football League, UCF led all other Conference USA schools in 2008. Today, we look at former tailback Kevin Smith.
Last April, on day two of the NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions traded up to select Smith with the first pick of the third round. Smith became the sixth UCF player all-time to be taken in the third round of the draft.
The former Knight enjoyed a solid rookie season that saw him fall just 24 yards short of 1,000 rushing yards. The rookie tallied eight touchdowns on the ground. Smith also helped out in the passing game catching 39 balls for 286 yards, and was the team's third-leading receiver. In week 11 at the Carolina Panthers, Smith enjoyed his best output of the season rushing for 112 yards on 24 carries, and hauling in two passes from fellow UCF alum Daunte Culpepper for 23 yards.
The former Southridge High School (Miami, Fla.) standout was being recruited by many schools to play safety in college. UCF head coach George O'Leary saw Smith play running back his junior year, and offered him a scholarship at tailback.
Smith quickly found success on the playing field totaling 1,178 yards his freshman season, including a 202-yard performance on the ground in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. In his senior campaign, Smith turned in the second-best season ever by a running back, totaling 2,567 rushing yards and 30 total touchdowns. The Heisman candidate fell 61 yards shy of Barry Sanders' all-time record of 2,628 rushing yards in a season. With his 450 carries his junior year, Smith broke Marcus Allen's previous NCAA record of 403 rushing attempts in a season. Smith became UCF's first consensus All-American as he was named to every All-American list in the nation.
Monday we look at former offensive lineman Josh Sitton of the Green Bay Packers.