Smith has fashioned himself into a special-teams ace in his fourth season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and also serves as a reserve defensive back when they need him in that capacity.
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It's been nearly 40 years since an Eagle last appeared on football's biggest stage. Louis Breeden did it most recently in 1982, in Super Bowl XVI as a member of the Bengals. Cincinnati lost to San Francisco that day.
Richard Sligh is the only other NCCU player to suit up in a Super Bowl. He was a reserve defensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II in 1968. Oakland fell to Green Bay in that game.
That being the extent of school history, Smith has a huge opportunity to be the first Eagle to actually be crowned a Super Bowl champion. Whatever the result, he'll be proudly repping NC Central on Sunday.
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"It's a big deal in that aspect as far as like, a lot of people don't make it out of Central, or small schools period, so for me to be in this situation, it's a big thing. Me coming from Central, putting them on notice like you know we got dudes who can ball too. It's a big deal," Smith told ABC11 Wednesday.
There is actually a second Eagle on Tampa as well, though he's not on the active roster. Nick Leverett, a former offensive lineman for NC Central is on the practice squad for the Bucs. Smith said he and Leverett remain very close and play video games together all the time.