Former WOS football star named to hall of fame

Former West Orange-Stark Mustang Kevin Smith, who went on to star for Texas A&M and the Dallas Cowboys was named Monday to the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame.

The College Football Hall of Fame has a museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The inductees announced Monday include 19 players who earned first team All-American honors, along with three college coaches. They will be honored at an awards banquet set for Las Vegas in December this year.

He is also in the Texas A&M 12th Man Hall of Fame and the Museum of the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame.

Smith, who is now 53, played under Mustang coaches Dan Hooks and Cornell Thompson on the 1986 and 1987 teams that won back-to-back state championships. He played offense and defense in high school and his senior year, made the All-State team on both.

While at WOS, he also lettered in baseball, basketball, plus track and field.

He was a top college recruit and chose to become an Aggie under Coach R.C. Slocum, who is also from Orange and was a graduate of the old Lutcher Stark High. Slocum was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Smith's years at A&M were when the university was still part of the Southwest Conference and as a defensive back, he helped the Aggies win conference titles in 1991-92. He was named to the All-Southwest Conference team for three years and was a first team All-American his senior year.

He set a Southwest Conference record with 20 interceptions and still holds the Texas A&M record for those interceptions.

During the 1992 NFL draft, he was chosen in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys, going as the 17th that year in the total draft.

While playing for the Cowboys, the team won three Super Bowl championships in 1992, 1993, and 1995. His first years as a Cowboy were played under Coach Jimmy Johnson, a Port Arthur native.

He earned a position on the Cowboys starting roster after 10 games into the 1992 season and was the team's youngest starter that year at the age of 21.

He earned All-Pro honors with the Cowboys, where he played for nine years, suffering several injuries beginning in the 1995 season. His last season was in 2000.