Stevonne Smith Sr. is a former football wide receiver who played 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is also being inducted into the Panthers' Hall of Honor in 2019.
He played college football at Utah, and was drafted by the Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played for the Baltimore Ravens during the final three years of his career.
Smith, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, emerged as one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers of the 21st century, leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2005. He played for the Panthers for 13 seasons before signing with the Ravens in March 2014, and is the Panthers' all-time leader in total touchdowns (67), receptions (836) and receiving yards (12,197).
In 2011, he became the 35th player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards. In 2016, Smith became the 14th player in NFL history to amass 1,000 career receptions. At the time of his retirement, he ranked seventh in NFL career all-purpose yards (19,180). As of November 2018, he was eighth in NFL career receiving yards (14,731), 12th in career receptions (1,031), and 25th in receiving touchdowns (81).
Smith attended University High School in Los Angeles, and was a letterman in football and track & field. In football, he played running back and defensive back, and was an All-Metro League selection as well as an All-California Interscholastic Federation selection. Smith graduated from University High School in 1997.
After graduating from high school, Smith attended Santa Monica College. While playing for the Santa Monica Corsairs football team, Smith quickly defined himself as a talented football player, and earned a starting position. During this time, Smith was teammates with future NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson, surprising fans of the small college's team with their unexpected talents.
While impressing spectators with his performance on the football field, Santa Monica's head coach, Robert Taylor, encouraged Smith to not play for riches or fame, but to play so that he might earn a scholarship to a Division-I school, where he could receive a better education. He also advised Smith and Johnson to not do touchdown celebrations and as Smith said, "they put the cuffs on us." Smith took Taylor's advice to heart, and excelled in his academics, not missing a single day of classes while attending Santa Monica.
After completing two years at Santa Monica College, Smith transferred to the University of Utah, where he established himself as a standout wideout for the Utah Utes football team in the Mountain West Conference where he was a teammate of future NFL running back Mike Anderson. While at the University of Utah, Smith set a record for yards per catch with a 20.6 average, and was chosen to play for the conference's all-star team twice. However, he missed their bowl game in his final season due to injury. After the Blue–Gray All-Star game on December 25, 2000, Smith began to receive attention from various NFL scouts. He was named offensive MVP of the January 13, 2001, East–West Shrine Game.
He and his wife have endowed an athletics scholarship at the University of Utah.
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