Associated Press

Sep 3, 2026, 06:03 PM ET

PAHOKEE, Fla. -- Alphonso Smith, a two-time All-America defensive back who played in the NFL for four seasons, has died. He was 40.

Smith died Wednesday, according to Wake Forest, which was informed by his family. The school's release Thursday afternoon didn't reveal a cause of death.

The Associated Press contacted the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida earlier Thursday seeking to confirm Smith's death. In an emailed statement responding to that inquiry, the office said sheriff's deputies had responded to a Pahokee address "in reference to a suicide attempt" Wednesday afternoon.

"An adult male was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," the sheriff's office stated.

Smith appeared to post on his Facebook account Wednesday, lamenting his mental health challenges, apologizing and asking for forgiveness.

"Do not cry for me!" a post read on his account. "I tried everything in my power to fight the demons behind the ones that someone put into ME! I did not want to be that WAY! I know I have disappointed so many folks. This is a DEMON in me! But not only me! It's EVERYONE! I have HURT so many! I needed help & did not get it! I am so sorry!"

Smith apologized to his children in the note and suggested that trauma from his childhood had caused him mental anguish.

"I pray my soul rest in heaven for my heart is pure," he said.

The Denver Broncos selected the former Wake Forest star in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft. After playing in 15 games for the Broncos, returning punts and kickoffs, he was traded to the Detroit Lions shortly before the 2010 season.

Smith played in 33 games, including 11 starts, over the next two seasons with the Lions and had eight interceptions, returning two for touchdowns.

The Lions released him just before the 2012 season, signed him later that year and cut him again after he played in four games as a backup.

Smith went to Pahokee High School in his hometown, where he helped the football team win a Florida state title as a two-way star playing quarterback and defensive back in 2003. He redshirted as a freshman at Wake Forest and went on to become a key player for the program over the next four seasons.

Smith was a first-team AP All-America defensive back in 2008 and third-team All-American in 2007.

After playing in 44 NFL games over four years, he worked as a sideline reporter for Wake Forest football games during the 2013 season when he was also an assistant high school coach in nearby Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Smith was a head high school football coach in Moore Haven, Florida, and at Pahokee High School, where he was also dean of students in charge of discipline, according to his LinkedIn account. His last listed job was director of marketing for a South Florida family physician.

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Former Wake Forest, NFL DB Smith dies at 40

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