Name Zuriel Smith | Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight 83 kg | |
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Date of birth: (1980-01-15) January 15, 1980 (age 35) NFL draft: 2003 / Round: 6 / Pick: 186 Education | ||
Zuriel Smith (born January 15, 1980 in Richmond, Virginia) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots. He played college football at Hampton University.
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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). 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).
Dallas Cowboys
He was selected 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).
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
On August 18, 2005, he was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants and later cut on August 29.
New England Patriots
On February 10, 2006, signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots and was allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe. He was injured and placed on the NFL Europe reserve list. He was released on February 13, 2007.