By Jim Gehman, Player Engagement Insider
Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith didn’t recognize the number that appeared on his phone when it rang one recent morning. He’d normally just ignore it. However, this time …
“I picked it up and he said, ‘Jimmy, this is Shad Khan from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ and I knew right then what was about to happen,” Smith said. “I started bawling. It was excitement and joy and all of the above.
Khan, the Jaguars owner, told Smith the team planned to honor his career and that he would become just the sixth member of the Pride of the Jaguars. He’ll be inducted on December 11th when Jacksonville hosts the Minnesota Vikings at EverBank Field.
“Now that I’m being inducted into the Pride; my name will be stamped in that stadium forever for my kids’ kids to see. It adds even more value to my name,” Smith said. “And now the real work begins. I was talking to (former Jaguars running back and teammate) Fred Taylor and it’s just like being a rookie all over again. Fred was voted into the Pride four years ago and he told me what it takes, the requirements, what they’re expecting when my name goes in the Pride.
“It was weird because when he came into the NFL (in 1998) I was giving him the same speech. What it’s going to take to be a professional football player. What you’ve got to do in the community. What you’ve got to do as far as taking care of your body so you can perform and add longevity to your career. So it was pretty much the same thing he was giving back to me. It seemed like we just switched places.”
Smith, who signed with the Jaguars as a free agent in 1995, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys out of Jackson State University three years earlier. But a broken leg sidelined him for more than half of his rookie season. And an emergency appendectomy which caused a serious infection kept him off the field the next year. In 1994, he was signed and released by the Philadelphia Eagles.
His luck and career path changed after arriving in Jacksonville. Becoming a starter midway through the 1996 season, Smith would earn his first of five consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl following the 1997 campaign.
“My mom used to always tell me, ‘A setback is a setup for a comeback.’ I’ve had a lot of setbacks in my life, whatever they were, and it’s set me up to come back and to show resiliency, to show perseverance,” Smith said. “I want to be that one like (former Jaguars coach Tom) Coughlin said on my (NFL Films) documentary, A Football Life, that I can turn my life around and help that other person that’s struggling that don’t know they’re struggling. Just by being an example of when you wake up in the morning, you can do it.”
Retiring in 2006 after 11 seasons with the Jaguars, Smith is still the team’s all-time leader in receptions (862), receiving yards (12,287) and touchdown receptions (67). With such an outstanding career, has the thought of being enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame crossed his mind?
“Every day,” Smith said. “When I was playing I didn’t really think about it. Now that I’m retired, I think about it a lot because I see the guys going in who are from the era that I played, like (former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver) Marvin Harrison. We were the top two receivers in the AFC. It seemed like year after year we were battling for the top spots as far as catches, yards and touchdowns. Obviously, he had (quarterback) Peyton Manning so he won out a lot, but when I see him going in, it was a no-brainer. It was just a matter of time.
“And then also you hear mentioned (other former receivers) T.O. [Terrell Owens] and Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce. It’s probably going to be one of those deals where like a Cris Carter or Michael Irvin who had to wait, wait, wait and then it will happen. The good thing is that I’ve been nominated. In my book, to be nominated is just like being in the Hall of Fame. If they keep nominating me every year, you know what, that’s good enough for me. What an honor to be nominated.”
Smith may be retired from football, but that’s not to say that he isn’t staying busy.
“I have a trucking business (Team 82 Logistic) in Dallas and a ranch (Lake Smith Ranch) in Mississippi, so I’m back and forth attending to both of those businesses,” Smith said. “I had no idea that I would ever be into the trucking business. I have a friend who owned a scrap yard and lost his authority, and he gave me the opportunity to come in and do all the hauling out of the scrap metal. Right now I’m contracting owner-operators and am in the process of buying a fleet of trucks.
“(At the ranch) I have about 50 head of cattle and also grow hay. We’ve got three lakes with trophy bass. There’s 200 acres with all kinds of deer and wildlife, and what I’m planning on doing in the future is making it a bed and breakfast/resort. Put some tree houses out there and some lake houses.”
A former star with the Jaguars turned entrepreneur, what’s the best thing about being Jimmy Smith today?
“The best thing is that I know that my (seven) children are proud of their daddy. Not the fact that my social media is blowing up, none of that stuff. I thank God that my kids can wake up and feel proud of their father and his accomplishments, his resiliency and being able to persevere through it all.”