No. 82 | |||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Date of birth: | February 9, 1969 | ||||||||
Place of birth: | Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 213 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Jackson (MS) Callaway | ||||||||
College: | Jackson State | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 1992 / Round: 2 / Pick: 36 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Receptions: | 862 |
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Receiving yards: | 12,287 |
Touchdowns: | 67 |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Jimmy Lee Smith Jr. (born February 9, 1969) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Smith is the son of Jimmy and Etta Smith. He attended Callaway High School in Jackson, Mississippi, where he earned all-state honors as a senior. He was given the nickname Silk by his teammates.
Smith attended Jackson State University and played wide receiver. He became a starter as a junior, teaming with Tim Barnett, becoming the top receiving duo in Division I-AA, while registering 42 receptions for 894 yards and 9 touchdowns. In his final year he had 43 catches for 801 yards and 3 touchdowns. He finished his college career with 110 receptions, 2,073 yards and 16 touchdowns. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
In 2011, he was named to the Jackson State University All-Century team.
Smith was selected in the second round (36th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. As a rookie, he broke his right fibula during the Dallas Blue-White Scrimmage and recovered to play in just seven games as a special teamer, without registering a reception.
In 1993, he was leading the team in pre-season receptions and was one of the candidates for the third receiver job. On August 24, he underwent an emergency appendectomy and later developed a severe post-surgical infection (causing four abscesses in his stomach) that was nearly fatal and forced him miss the entire season, including Super Bowl XXVIII. After being placed on a list for players with non-football related injuries, he had to go to arbitration to receive his full salary. He was waived on July 11, 1994, after he wouldn't accept a pay cut.