Cedric Delon Smith (born May 27, 1968) 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 ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for six seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) during the 1990s. Smith played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

, and thereafter, he played in the NFL for 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 ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. Smith was an assistant strength & conditioning coach with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

from 2017 to 2020. He is currently the head assistant strength and conditioning coach of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He is entering his 15th season as an NFL strength and conditioning coach, Smith has seven years of experience leading the strength and conditioning programs for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

from 2010 to 2013 and the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

from 2007 to 2009.

Early life

Smith was born in

Enterprise, Alabama Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County, Alabama, Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County, Alabama, Dale County in Southeastern Alabama, United States. Its population was 28,711 at the 2020 United States cen ...

, in 1968.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Cedric Smith
Retrieved July 27, 2010. He attended Enterprise High School,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved July 27, 2010. where he was an honor student and standout running back for the Enterprise Wildcats high school football team.

College career

Smith accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played fullback for coach Galen Hall's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 98, 99, 124, 174, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. He was the primary blocking back for featured tailback

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, 13 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys and 2 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals ...

in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and was also a team captain as a senior in 1989. Smith was recognized as a

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) Academic Honor Roll honoree in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and he graduated with a bachelor's degree in public health in 1990.

Professional career

The

selected Smith in the fifth round (131st pick overall) of the 1990 NFL draft. He played for the Vikings for a single season in .National Football League, Historical Players
Cedric Smith
Retrieved July 27, 2010. Smith played for the New Orleans Saints in After two seasons out of the NFL, Smith signed with the Washington Redskins and played in twenty games during the and seasons. He played his final two NFL seasons for the Arizona Cardinals in and , appearing in thirty-one games. In his six-season NFL career, Smith played in 72 games, and started 14 of them. He totaled 40 rushes for 100 yards with two touchdowns to go along with 20 receptions for 141 yards and two scores.

Coaching career

Smith is currently the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the

, having spent the previous four seasons as an assistant with the Denver Broncos, three seasons directing the

and four seasons directing the

as head strength and conditioning coach.Houston Texans, Coaches
Cedric Smith
. Retrieved July 27, 2010. Smith was recognized as the NFL Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the league's strength and conditioning coaches in 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Cedric 1968 births Living people Players of American football from Enterprise, Alabama American football running backs Florida Gators football players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players Washington Redskins players Arizona Cardinals players Coaches of American football from Alabama Denver Broncos coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Houston Texans coaches