Jeffrey Jerome Smith (born May 28, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who played five seasons in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and one season in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL).

Early life

Jeffrey Jerome Smith was born on May 28, 1962, in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston ...

. He attended

Poway High School Poway High School is a four-year high school in Poway, California, United States. Established in 1961, its approximately 2,408 students are from Poway and the community of Rancho Bernardo. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools ...

Poway, California Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city had a population of 48,841 as of the 2020 United States census. Poway is part of San Diego's East ...

. He graduated from Poway High in 1979.

College career

The then-6-foot-3, 175-pound Smith transferred to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo after former football rival

Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a public polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the largest of the three polytechnic universities in the California State University syst ...

dropped the sport following the fall of 1982. In his only season with the

Mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...

on the Central Coast, Smith earned All- WFC first-team honors.

Professional career

Smith signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

(CFL) in 1984 but was later released.He then dressed in one game for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

during the 1984 CFL season before being released. Smith was signed by the

Orlando Renegades The Orlando Renegades were a professional American football team that played in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, in the United States Football League (USFL) for a single season in 1985. Before its season in Orlando, the franchise played in Wa ...

of the

(USFL) on February 1, 1985. He played in 14 games for the Renegades during the

1984 USFL season The 1984 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League. Rule changes * The USFL added the side judge to the game officials, making a seven-man crew. * Teams played preseason games in 1984. There had been no preseason ...

and caught 42 passes for 521 yards and one touchdown. He signed with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the National Football League (NFL) on April 9, 1987, but was later released. Smith then dressed in ten games for the Argonauts during the 1987 CFL season and recorded 25 receptions for 391 yards and two touchdowns. In July 1988, before the start of the 1988 season, Smith and Tony Johns were traded to the

for

Jeff Boyd Jeff Boyd (born April 17, 1958) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) wide receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Toronto Argonauts who, in a 9-year career from 1983–1991, caught 69 touchdown passes. He won two Grey Cup The Gr ...

and Ryan Hanson. Smith dressed in nine games for the Blue Bombers in 1988, totaling 39 catches for 436 yards and one touchdown. On November 27, 1988, the Blue Bombers won the

76th Grey Cup The 76th Grey Cup was the 1988 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22–21. This was the first Gre ...

against the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

by a score of 22–21. He dressed in nine games for the second straight year in 1989, recording 30 receptions for 358 yards and two touchdowns, 15 punt returns for 97 yards, and one tackle. Smith dressed in ten games for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

of the CFL in 1990, catching 28 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. He spent the 1991 season on Ottawa's practice roster before being released in November 1991. Smith signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

of the NFL on May 2, 1992. However, he was later released. He signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

in 1993 but was released before playing in any games. Smith was signed by the CFL's

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. They were established in 1994 as part of the CFL's expansion into the United States and disbanded upon the ...

in 1994 but later released before dressing in any games.

Personal life

Smith is the son of former longtime NFL assistant coach Jerry Smith.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jeff Living people 1962 births 20th-century American sportsmen Sportspeople from Poway, California Players of American football from San Diego County, California Players of Canadian football from California Players of American football from Massachusetts Players of Canadian football from Massachusetts American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football players Cal Poly Mustangs football players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Toronto Argonauts players Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades players New York Jets players Ottawa Rough Riders players New England Patriots players Orlando Predators players Shreveport Pirates players