Corey Dominique Smith (October 2, 1979 – March 1, 2009) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He was originally signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2002. He played college football at

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...

. Smith also played for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and Detroit Lions.

Boating incident and disappearance

On March 1, 2009, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

reported that a fishing boat was missing off the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

near Clearwater Pass, Florida. The boat was carrying four passengers, including Smith; Marquis Cooper, a member of the Oakland Raiders; as well as Nick Schuyler and Will Bleakley, former

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

football players. The four men left Clearwater Pass on February 28 at 6:30 a.m. and were expected to return later that night. The Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Tornado began searching for the missing boat shortly after midnight on March 1, 2009. By 1:35 p.m. EST on March 2, 2009, the boat was located, overturned, with Schuyler clinging to it. The other three passengers were not found. According to Schuyler, Cooper separated from the group at 5:30 AM, with Smith disappearing about an hour later. 24 hours later, Bleakley became unresponsive, and despite Schuyler giving him CPR, he also disappeared. Schuyler was found less than six hours later. The search for the three men who remained missing ended at sundown on March 3, 2009. Friends and relatives organized a private search which was called off several days later. Smith's family has established the Corey D. Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund in his honor. The Detroit Lions held a memorial service for him on March 21, 2009. The Detroit Lions announced they would retire Smith's #93 during the 2009 season in honor of him. An investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission determined that the incident was caused when the vessel was improperly anchored, and the boat capsized after one of the passengers tried to throttle forward in an attempt to pry loose the anchor. Smith was named the 2009 recipient of the Detroit Lions/Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association/Pro Football Writers Association's Media-Friendly "Good Guy" Award. The Good Guy Award is given yearly to the Detroit Lions player who shows consideration to, and cooperation with the media at all times during the course of the season. His family accepted the award on behalf of the late NFL player.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Corey 1979 births 2009 deaths African-American players of American football American football defensive ends American football linebackers Detroit Lions players NC State Wolfpack football players Players of American football from Richmond, Virginia San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Boating accident deaths Accidental deaths in Florida