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Akili Smith
refer to caption
Smith at Calgary Stampeders training camp in 2007
No. 11, 17
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1975-08-21) August 21, 1975 (age 49)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school: Lincoln (San Diego, California)
College: Oregon
NFL Draft: 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • Pac-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Year (1998)
  • First-team All-Pac-10 (1998)
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts: 461
Passing completions: 215
Completion percentage: 46.6%
TD–INT: 5–13
Passing yards: 2,212
Passer rating: 52.8
Player stats at PFR

Kabisa Akili Maradufu Smith (born August 21, 1975) is an American former professional football player. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft. He was the third player picked overall. Akili played college football for the Oregon Ducks.

Smith also played for the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Frankfurt Galaxy, and Calgary Stampeders.

Early Life and College Football

Akili Smith was born in San Diego, California. His parents, Glorida Bryant and Ray Smith, gave him the name Kabisa Akili Maradufu. In the Swahili language, "kabisa" means "completely," "akili" means "mind," and "maradufu" means "double."

Smith went to Abraham Lincoln High School in San Diego. Famous football players like Marcus Allen and Terrell Davis also went there.

After high school, Smith first went to Grossmont College. This is a junior college in the San Diego area. He spent two years there before moving to the University of Oregon.

Smith became well-known for his amazing performance in his senior year at Oregon. He threw 32 touchdown passes in just 11 games. He led his conference in passing yards. He was named second-team All-American and the Pac-10 conference offensive player of the year.

College Statistics

Season Passing Rushing
Cmp Att Yds Pct TD Int Att Yds TD
1997 108 200 1,385 54.0 13 7 89 183 2
1998 215 371 3,763 58.0 32 8 82 184 4
Total 323 571 5,148 56.6 45 15 171 367 6

Professional Football Career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 2+3⁄4 in
(1.90 m)		 227 lb
(103 kg)		 32+1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)		 9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.72 s 1.63 s 2.73 s 4.29 s 6.99 s 34 in
(0.86 m)		 9 ft 6 in
(2.90 m)		 26
All values from NFL combine

Playing for the Cincinnati Bengals

In the 1999 NFL draft, Akili Smith was the third player chosen overall. The Cincinnati Bengals picked him. Before the draft, Akili took a test called the Wonderlic test. This test helps NFL teams learn about players' problem-solving skills.

The New Orleans Saints wanted to trade with the Bengals to get a different player. They offered many draft picks, but the Bengals said no. They decided to stick with their plan to draft Akili Smith.

Smith missed a lot of practice time during his first year in 1999. This was because of disagreements over his contract (how much money he would be paid). On August 24, 1999, he signed a big seven-year contract.

Even though he was a good athlete, Akili had trouble learning all the Bengals' plays. He also didn't study the game films and playbooks as much as he should have. Because of this, he never became a strong starting player for the team. During his four years with the Bengals, he started only 17 games. He threw just five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He was released from the team on May 31, 2003.

Later Career Teams

In 2003, Smith tried out for the Green Bay Packers. He hoped to be a backup quarterback to Brett Favre. However, he was not successful there and was later released. In 2005, he played in NFL Europa, a football league in Europe, for the Frankfurt Galaxy. After that, he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On April 28, 2007, Smith signed a two-year contract with the Calgary Stampeders. This team is part of the Canadian Football League. He was expected to compete for the starting quarterback spot. In a practice game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Smith played very well. He completed three touchdown passes in just one half of play.

NFL Career Statistics

Year Team GP Passing
Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg Lng TD Int Rtg Fum
1999 CIN 7 80 153 52.3 805 5.3 39 2 6 55.6 2
2000 CIN 12 118 267 44.2 1,253 4.7 46 3 6 52.9 10
2001 CIN 2 5 8 62.5 37 4.6 14 0 0 73.4 0
2002 CIN 1 12 33 36.4 117 3.6 24 0 1 34.5 1
Career 22 215 461 46.6 2,212 4.8 46 5 13 52.8 13

Life After Football

After he stopped playing professional football, Akili Smith became a coach. He was the quarterbacks coach for Grossmont College. He also played flag football for a team called "God's House."

In 2010, Smith joined the coaching staff at the University of California. He worked as a graduate assistant to help with the offense. The head coach there, Jeff Tedford, had coached Smith when he played at Oregon.

In 2012, Smith became the quarterbacks coach for St. Augustine High School in San Diego. He also planned to finish his college degree from the University of Oregon. As of 2014, Smith was coaching football at The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California.

In June 2020, Smith was hired to coach at Maranatha High School in Pasadena, California.

Personal Life

Akili Smith has a son named Akili Smith Jr. His son is also a talented quarterback. He plans to play college football at Oregon, just like his dad.

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