Kendal Carson Smith (born November 23, 1965) 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 two seasons with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the

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(NFL). He was selected by the Bengals in the seventh round of the

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after playing

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Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

Early life

Kendal Carson Smith was born on November 23, 1965, in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

. He attended Mountain View High School in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

College career

Smith was a four-year

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for the

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from 1985 to 1988. He caught 12 passes for 225 yards as a freshman in 1985 while also scoring one rushing touchdown and returning 11 punts for 99 yards. In 1986, he recorded 25 receptions for 474 yards and seven touchdowns, 37 kick returns for 735 yards, and 31 punt returns for 183 yards. He led the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) in kick returns and kick return yards that year. In 1987, Smith totaled 67 catches for 1,048 yards and seven touchdowns, 18 kick returns for 317 yards, and 26 punt returns for 293 yards and one touchdown. His 67 catches set a single-season school record. He garnered second-team All-PCAA recognition as well. As a senior in 1988, he recorded 65 receptions for 1,196 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the PCAA in all three categories and setting single-season school records in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He also set an

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record by scoring a receiving touchdown in nine straight games. He returned 26 kicks for 524 yards and 13 punts for 141 yards and one touchdown as well. For the 1989 season, Smith earned PCAA Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-PCAA, and

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third-team

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honors. Overall, he caught 169 passes for 2,943 yards and 25 touchdowns during his college career, setting school career records in all three categories. He also had a Utah State record 81 career punt returns. He played in the Blue–Gray Football Classic and

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after his senior year. Smith was named to Utah State's 24-member All-Century team in 1993. He was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame in 2018.

Professional career

Smith was selected by the

in the seventh round, with the 194th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 22, 1989. He played in 11 games during his rookie year in 1989, totaling 10 receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown, 12 punt returns for 54 yards, and five kick returns for 65 yards. Smith was released on September 3, 1990, but re-signed the next day. He appeared in nine games, starting two, for the Bengals in 1990 and caught seven passes for 45 yards before being placed on injured reserve on Novembe 23, 1990. He became a free agent after the season and re-signed with the Bengals. Smith was released on August 13, 1991. Smith signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

on March 18, 1992. He was released on August 25, 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kendal Living people 1965 births American football wide receivers Utah State Aggies football players Cincinnati Bengals players Players of American football from San Mateo, California Mountain View High School alumni Minnesota Vikings players