Alphonso Smith
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Pahokee, Florida, U.S.
 Smith with the Detroit Lions in 2011 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 33, 27 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | October 20, 1985 Pahokee, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 193 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Pahokee | ||||||||||||||
| College | Wake Forest | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2009: 2nd round, 37th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Alphonso Smith, Jr. (born October 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Smith played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and received consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft, and also played for the NFL's Detroit Lions.
Smith was born in Pahokee, Florida. He played quarterback and cornerback at Pahokee High School, and was runner up for the state Player of the Year award as a senior after leading the school to a 13–1 record and the Class 2B state championship. He earned first-team all-state honors as a senior cornerback, totaling 27 tackles, four interceptions and one sack. On offense, he threw for 2,400 yards and 32 touchdowns while also rushing for 640 yards and six scores as a senior. He also started on the school's basketball team.
College career
Smith attended Wake Forest University, where he played for coach Jim Grobe's Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team from 2004 to 2008. Smith redshirted as a true freshman in 2004. As a redshirt freshman in 2005, Smith started all 11 games and finished the season with 60 tackles (52 unassisted), three interceptions, two sacks, 12 pass breakups and one forced fumble. He received first-team Freshman All-America honors from CollegeFootballNews.com, ESPN.com and Scout.com. In 2006, the sophomore played 14 games with three starts, registering 48 tackles (37 solo), three interceptions, four sacks, 11 pass breakups and one forced fumble.
As a junior in 2007, Smith started all 13 games as a junior for the Demon Deacons and had 44 tackles (36 solo), eight interceptions, three sacks, 18 pass breakups and four forced fumbles and returned three of the interceptions for touchdowns. He tied for first in the nation with a school-record eight interceptions and was first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection and received second-team All-America honors from Walter Camp.
In 2008 Smith started all 13 games as a senior for Wake Forest, totaling 37 tackles (28 solo), seven interceptions, 20 pass breakups and two forced fumbles and tied for first in the nation in both interceptions and pass breakups. He was a first-team All-ACC selection and a consensus first-team All-American. He was also named one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He continues to hold the ACC record for career interceptions (21), and broke the record previously held by Dré Bly of North Carolina in the 2008 EagleBank Bowl.[1]
