He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, after being kicked off the team by head coach Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee.
Smith attended Grant Union High School[2] where he was teammates with Wide receivers Donté Stallworth and Paris Warren and Arena Football League player Chad Elliot.
He also established career marks with 6,178 yards rushing and 99 scores ... Posted a single-game rushing best of 373 yards against Yuba City, and scored 6 touchdowns in three different games ... Named the 1998 All-City Offensive Player of the Year and league MVP ... Also started two years at defensive back.
In March 1999 Smith and the Pacers played in the state championship game against a Dominguez High (Compton, California) team that featured future NBA center Tyson Chandler.
The next season, he ran the ball 144 times for 544 yards and two touchdowns, which led the Vikings who had injury problems at running back.
In May 2005, Smith was detained at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport for carrying dried urine and a "mysterious" device that was later identified as a Whizzinator (a sex simulator toy, often used alternatively to beat drug tests).
On Wednesday, April 26, 2006, Smith was released by the Vikings three days prior to the 2006 NFL draft and more than a month away from the end of his suspension.