Fernando Smith (born August 2, 1971) 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

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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). He is from

Flint, MI Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Mid Michigan region. Flint had a population of 81,252 at the 202 ...

and graduated from

Flint Northwestern High School Flint Northwestern High School was a high school in Flint, Michigan, United States that served grades nine through twelve. It was part of Flint Community Schools and opened in 1964. In July 2018, the campus was repurposed as Flint Junior High Sc ...

and then

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

in 1994. He was selected in the second round of the

1994 NFL draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

with the 55th overall pick by 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 ...

. He played 4 seasons for the Vikings, and then one season each for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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

, and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

before retiring in 2001.

References

External links

*. * 1971 births Living people American football defensive ends Baltimore Ravens players Jacksonville Jaguars players Jackson State Tigers football players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Flint, Michigan St. Louis Rams players 20th-century American sportsmen {{defensive-lineman-1970s-stub