Marvel Amos Smith is a former professional
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
offensive tackle. He was drafted by the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in the second round of the
2000 NFL DraftThe 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
. He played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at
Arizona StateThe Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....
.
Smith also was a member of the
San Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. A two-time
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
selection, Smith earned two
Super Bowl ringThe Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl...
s with the Steelers.
Early years
Smith attended Skyline High School in Oakland, California, and was a top student and a letterman in football. In football he was a two-time All-City selection.
College career
Smith attended
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, where he was an
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n first-team selection in 1999, having only allowed one sack all season. He earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Smith was selected by the
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in the second round (38th overall) in the
2000 NFL DraftThe 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
. He was selected to represent the
AFCThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
in the
2005 Pro BowlThe 2005 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played February 13, 2005 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 38 - NFC 27. The most valuable player was Peyton Manning of the Colts. The game holds the record as the latest Pro Bowl played during the calendar year.-Game summary:The game...
for the first time after winning
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
. Smith was considered by many to be one of the most important players on the Steelers' offensive line. Unfortunately, back injuries hampered him at the end of 2007 and limited him to a handful of games in 2008. The Steelers chose not to re-sign him after his 2003, 6-year, $26 million contract lapsed in the 2009 offseason.
San Francisco 49ers
An unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season, Smith agreed to terms with the
San Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
on March 27, 2009. The deal contained a maximum value of $10.5 million. Smith announced his retirement on August 28.
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