Kenny Smith was born to Leon Smith and Betty Jenning on September 8, 1977 ... Was Mississippi Defensive Player of the Year and Parade All-American as a senior at Meridian High (Miss.) ... Four Year prep starter ... As a senior, he had 65 solo stops, 10 sacks, two fumbles recoveries and two forced fumbles ... First player in Meridian history to move up from junior high to play varsity football ... Also played basketball and made the all-state basketball squad ... Majored in business management at Alabama.

Originally drafted by the Saints in the third round (81st overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft...Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Oakland Raiders on March 31, 2005...Placed on injured reserve by Oakland and missed the entire 2005 season...Signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent on March 7, 2007 and was released by the Buccaneers on April 30, 2007...Signed by the Patriots on June 8, 2007. Re-signed by the Patriots on April 23, 2008.

Smith, 29, is entering his sixth NFL season after spending five seasons with the New Orleans Saints (2001-04) and Oakland Raiders (2005). The 6-foot-4-inch, 303-pound defensive lineman has played in 30 career games with 10 starts and has recorded 69 career tackles (56 solo), 4.5 sacks, two passes defensed and two fumble recoveries. The University of Alabama product was originally drafted by the Saints in the third round (81st overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft. He appeared in six games as a rookie for New Orleans and totaled eight tackles (7 solo). In 2002, Smith saw action in nine games with one start and notched 19 tackles (17 solo), including 3.5 sacks, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. The following season, he set career highs with nine starts in 15 games while compiling 42 tackles (32 solo), including one sack, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. Smith spent the 2004 season on injured reserve with the Saints, and was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Oakland Raiders on March 31, 2005. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve by Oakland and missed the entire 2005 season. After spending the 2006 season out of football, Smith was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent on March 7, 2007 and was released by the Buccaneers on April 30, 2007.

GP/GS: 30/10 (0/0)

• Smith has played in 30 career games with 10 starts and has recorded 69 career tackles (56 solo), 4.5 sacks, two passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.
• In 2003, Smith set career highs with nine starts in 15 games while compiling 42 tackles (32 solo), one sack, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery.
• In 2002, Smith notched 18 tackles (17 solo) including 3.5 sacks, one pass defensed and a fumble recovery.

2007 (0/0): Released by the Patriots during the preseason (8/22) and spent the remainder of the year out of football.

• Kenny, a highly sought after recruit out of Mississippi, planned to attend Florida, but his father insisted on Georgia Tech. His mother had to break the stalemate, ultimately deciding on Alabama, where Kenny would be close to home.