Former Fox Demont Smith Signed by AFL's Rampage
October 30, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Charleston Swamp Foxes News Release
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC â For the moment, the 18-game arenafootball2 career of former Charleston Swamp Foxes' defensive specialist Demont Smith has been put on hold. It has been suspended so that he may once again pursue the dream at the next level.
On Wednesday, Smith signed for the second time in his career with the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Smith joins former Foxes' equipment manager, Johnathan Katona, who made the jump to the AFL's Rampage earlier in the month.
Smith started his arenafootball2 playing career in 2001 with the Charleston Swamp Foxes. In only four games, he tallied 11 total tackles, including seven unassisted stops, but more impressively, intercepted three passes. The promise shown in the few short weeks spent in the South Carolina Lowcountry landed Smith at the next level with the Grand Rapids Rampage.
Signed to the practice squad at the beginning of May 2002, Smith fought through practice to earn a spot on the active roster by the middle of the same month. After being waived later in 2002, Smith was re-signed by the Rampage in mid-November. In limited action with the Rampage, Smith recorded eight total tackles, two pass breakups, and an interception.
He stayed with the team until eventually being waived by Grand Rapids in January of 2003. It was then that he called his old defensive coordinator, Rik Richards, who had been promoted to head coach of the Swamp Foxes in October of 2002.
In eight games with the Swamp Foxes last season, Smith excelled as a defensive specialist. He averaged an interception a game, picking off eight passes through his eight appearances. He returned the picks for an af2-leading total of 161 yards and one touchdown. Smith also recorded 39 total tackles, including 25 solo stops and one for a loss. He also returned 16 kickoffs for a 24.1-yard average and one score through the eight games.
On two separate occasions, Smith recorded three interceptions in a single game â in a loss at Cincinnati and in a road win over the Columbus Wardogs. He was the only player in arenafootball2 to intercept three passes in a single game during the 2003 season and became the Foxes' single-game record holder in the same category. Also, Smith advanced a lateralled recovered fumble 38 yards for a touchdown in the season opening loss to Norfolk for his first career score in af2.
Though Smith played most of the season as the Swamp Foxes' defensive specialist, he did get one opportunity to get in on the offensive action. In a road loss at Greensboro, Smith caught a pair of passes for 35 yards, including a 25-yarder for his first career-receiving touchdown in af2.
Midway through the 2003 season, Smith was traded to the Louisville Fire for future considerations. Appearing in six games in Kentucky, mostly as a two-way player, Smith recorded 20 total tackles and two interceptions. On offense, he caught 16 passes for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while returning 19 kickoffs for a 20.9-yard average.
In two seasons as a Swamp Fox, Smith recorded 50 total tackles, ranking him tenth on the Swamp Foxes' all-time leading defender list. His 11 career interceptions with Charleston rank him second on the Swamp Foxes' all-time leader list behind Michael Brown with 25.
For his career, Smith compiled 70 total tackles, 49 of which were unassisted, and 13 interceptions. He scored six touchdowns and one two-point conversion giving him 38 career points.
To date, the Swamp Foxes have had four players from the 2003 roster signed by Arena Football League teams. Smith joins defensive secondary counterpart Michael Brown, who inked a deal with the Orlando Predators, kicker Rob Bironas who signed with the Carolina Cobras, and most recently, signing a deal with the 2003 ArenaBowl runner-up Arizona Rattlers, lineman Antionne Scott.
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