Jonathan McKenzi Smith (born October 19, 1981) was an American

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

for the Amsterdam Admirals. Lives in

Cypress, CA Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 50,151 at the 2020 census. History The first people living in the area now known as Cypress were the Gabrieleno, a Native American tribe of the Ton ...

High school career

He rushed 142 times for 1646 yards and 22 touchdowns. Earned All-Los Angeles City and league MVP honors as a senior at

Narbonne High School Nathaniel Narbonne High School (NHS) is a school located at 24300 South Western Avenue, in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, California. Narbonne serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Narbonne serve ...

in Harbor City, CA.

College career

After attending Pasadena Community College, he transferred to

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

, where he played 25 games (starting eight) and scored 15 touchdowns. He rushed for 1,245 yards on 296 carries (4.2-yard average) with 15 touchdowns. He also caught 48 passes for 525 yards with 3 touchdowns and 15 kickoff returns for 250 yards. Earned All-Pac-10 second-team honors after seeing duty in all 13 games as a senior. Rushed for 961 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003. Added 33 receptions for 349 yards and 1 score. Appeared in 12 games as a reserve running back in 2002 and carried the ball 72 times for 284 yards and 5 touchdowns. Caught 15 passes for 176 yards and 2 scores. Enjoyed a standout 2001 season while smashing every rushing record at Pasadena Community College in 2001 before transferring to Washington State. Earned Junior College Gridware All-America and Mission Conference Player of the Year honors. Ran for 2,049 yards on 223 carries and scored 22 rushing touchdowns with a 9.7 rushing average. Added 46 catches for 533 yards and 9 touchdowns. Set a national junior college record with 515 all-purpose yards in a single game.

Pro career

After not being selected in the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

, Smith was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He was released in September, but was signed to the practice squad in December. In 2005, he was assigned to the Amsterdam Admirals of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, playing in the backfield alongside Jarrett Payton, son of

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

. That year, the Admirals won

World Bowl XIII World Bowl XIII, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XIII, was NFL Europe's 2005 championship game. It was played at the LTU arena in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 11, 2005. In this match-up, the 6–4 Amsterdam Admirals got back to the W ...

against the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

; Smith scored a 22-yard touchdown in the game.

References

External links

Admirals.nl - Jonathan Smith

Washington State Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jonathan 1981 births Living people American football running backs Amsterdam Admirals players Kansas City Chiefs players Pasadena City Lancers football players Players of American football from Pasadena, California Washington State Cougars football players