Steve Smith Sr.

In his first season on the team, he ranked 4th in the NCAA in both punt return yards (495) and yard per return (17.1).

However, he missed their bowl game in his final season due to injury.

During the NFC divisional playoffs, Smith caught a 69-yard pass and ran it for a touchdown in the 2nd overtime period to defeat the St. Louis Rams 29–23.

He finished that game with 6 catches, 163 yards, and the one TD. In Super Bowl XXXVIII, he caught 4 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown, and returned a kickoff for 30 yards in the Panthers' 32–29 loss to the New England Patriots.

Stevonne Latrall Smith Sr. (born May 12, 1979) is an American sportscaster and a former professional football player.

Smith was a wide receiver for sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers, also playing for the Baltimore Ravens.

Smith graduated from University High School in 1997.

In track & field, he set a handful of school records, was named as an All-City selection as a high-hurdler, and also excelled in the triple jump and 300m hurdles.

He had personal-bests of 14.95 seconds in the 110m hurdles and 38.73 seconds in the 300m hurdles.

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 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.

After the Blue–Gray All-Star game on December 25, 2000, Smith began to receive attention from various NFL scouts.

He played college football for the Utah Utes, and was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft.

After retiring from the NFL, Smith became a sports analyst and show host for NFL Network.

He was named offensive MVP of the January 13, 2001, East–West Shrine Game.

Smith finished his time at Utah with 78 receptions for 1,608 yards and 12 touchdowns, with another 1,365 return yards and 4 touchdowns on special teams.

He and his wife have endowed an athletics scholarship at the University of Utah.

The Carolina Panthers chose Smith in the third round (74th overall) during the 2001 NFL Draft.

Smith spent a majority of his rookie season as a kick and punt returner, leading all rookies in net yardage with 1,994 yards, and landing in fourth place among all NFL players behind Priest Holmes, Marshall Faulk, and Derrick Mason.

In his first play as a professional, Smith returned the opening kickoff of the first game of the season for a touchdown.

Smith also had 10 catches for 154 yards, and rushed 4 times for 43 yards.

However, the team finished 1-15, winning only their season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

During the 2002 NFL season, Smith earned a starting position as a wide receiver and continued as the team's kick returner and punt returner.

Smith finished the 2002 season with 54 receptions for 872 yards and 3 touchdowns.

During the 2003 season, Smith played a critical role for the Panthers offense and helped lead them to their first NFC title in franchise history.

He finished the regular season with 88 receptions for 1,110 yards and 7 touchdowns.

He eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards mark for the first time in his career in 2003.

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.

In 2011, he became the 35th player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards.

He played for the Panthers for thirteen 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).

At the time of his retirement, he ranked seventh in NFL career all-purpose yards (19,180), seventh in NFL career receiving yards (14,731), twelfth in career receptions (1,031), and 25th in receiving touchdowns (81).

Smith generated more than 1,000 all-purpose yards in eleven different seasons and at least 1,900 all-purpose yards in four of his first five seasons.

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.