Detroit Lions re-signed former UCF running back Kevin Smith.
A karat by any other name is just as sweet in Kevin Smith’s world these days.
The Detroit Lions re-signed Smith, a former UCF running back and Heisman Trophy candidate, this month to replace injured running back Jahvid Best. After a stellar rookie season with the Detroit Lions, Kevin Smith stumbled in his next two seasons in large part due to injuries.
Now, he’s back, he’s healthy and he’s reclaiming his karats.
“Some people call me 34k, some people still call me 24k. I even heard one person call me 30k because I’m wearing 30 now. I saw no matter what number I wear, I’m gonna always shine no matter what the circumstances are. I’m some kind of karat,” Smith said with a chuckle.
Kevin Smith worked out with the team last week and while there’s no clear answer yet as to whether he’ll start this afternoon in the Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears contest, he expects to have some impact during the second half of the Lions’ season. Clearly, Smith knows the offense well and has experience working with Matthew Stafford.
Smith, who fought back from various injuries – the most serious being an ACL tear, feels fresh after a long lay-off since March.
“When I did get surgery, I just looked at it like I was going into the repair shop,” Smith told me in a phone interview. “I’m still young so I heal fast. With my work ethic, I knew it would be no time before my body feels like it feels now.”
On a sidenote, CBS analysts aren’t too confident the Detroit Lions will overcome the Chicago Bears. Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esiason picked the Bears. Just Bill Cowher picked Detroit and the fan vote favored the Bears by 52 percent.
Only time will tell if Kevin Smith will add much needed dimension to the Lions’ offense. But in the meantime, we can speculate.