BOBCATS 125 - TOP 50: Corey Smith
8/5/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
Corey Smith had a terrific career as a Bobcat, and then he became a legend
We look at the 25 players that Bobcat fans and a blue ribbon panel of long-time MSU football observers ranked between 26th and 50th in the quest to determine the program's all-time players. In this segment of the countdown, players are listed alphabetically. You can find details here and a directory here.
Corey Smith, WR/RS, 2000-03
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 1st Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky return specialists in 2003
A CLOSER LOOK: There's an important scene in the wonderful movie The Sandlot where Benny The Jet Rodriguez is taking advice from the ghost of Babe Ruth. (It's great. Seriously.)
After convincing the young ballplayer to overcome his fears and do something that seems impossible, the Bambino's apparition says, fading back into the ether, "Remember, kid, there's heroes, and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
Corey Smith woke up a hero on November 22, 2003. He went to bed a Bobcat legend.
At 12:05 pm, UM kicker Kris Snyder dribbled the opening kickoff to Smith at the 10-yard line. He glided upfield, angled toward the hash near the home sideline, and the crowd roared. He moved toward the sideline and caught an alley, and the roar deafened. The stadium shook. We all knew what was happening.
Bobcat play-by-play voice Kris Atteberry described it this way: "He's down the sideline, to the 20. The 10. He'll walk into the end zone! This place is off the hook!!!"
Man, was it ever. The 15,087 assembled had seen history, the first player in Cat-Griz history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. What goes forgotten about that game is that UM dominated statistically, getting 369 yards to MSU's 195 and 23 first downs to the Bobcats' 10. But it didn't matter. When Kenny Qualls returned an interception for a touchdown late in the first half, MSU improbably held a 13-10 lead. Bruce Molock scored late in the third quarter, and Travis Lulay punched one in early in the fourth. UM rallied, but the Cats won. It was Montana State's first win against the Grizzlies in Bozeman since 1987. The goal posts disappeared shortly after the final whistle blew, last seen being marched down Willson toward downtown. The revelry lasted well into Sunday, maybe Monday in some quarters. It was amazing.
And so was Smith's 2003 season. The Tacoma product caught 36 passes for 465 yards and a touchdown. He also returned 20 kickoffs for 664 yards and two touchdowns. And he brought back 35 punts for 545 yards, four to the house. He became the first player in Big Sky history to return two punts for touchdowns, and a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, in a single game.
It was like a blur, and it started early. Smith returned a punt 49 yards in game two to help ignite a 38-3 win over nationally-ranked Gardner-Webb, but wasn't finished. He returned an early fourth quarter kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, as well. He caught his only touchdown pass of the season in a week seven win over Weber State. In the season's ninth game, Smith returned a punt 80 yards and another 48 yards for touchdowns in a 56-7 win against Sacramento State. Against Portland State, Smith ran a punt back 62 yards to help the Cats seal a win. That was game 11. It was game 12, the Cat-Griz game, when everything went one notch higher for Corey Smith. A Bobcat legend.
FROM TEAMMATE TRAVIS LULAY: "Corey was super dynamic. My sophomore year, we had a good football team, but we lost (All-America) Junior Adams who graduated and (receiver) Tiger Hill didn't come back and we just weren't quite as explosive offensively as we were the year before. Ryan Johnson also graduated. So when you're not as dynamic offensively you rely a little more on special teams. The whole unit was tremendous, but Corey i s the guy with the ball in his hands.
"The one no one will ever forget is the opening kickoff at that Cat-Griz game, but we played in a tight game against Portland State and Corey had a kickoff return in that game. When you look at the football analysis stuff your chances of winning go significantly higher when you return a kick (for a touchdown). He was so natural as a return man. He made some big plays as a receiver but he absolutely changed games as a returner."
FROM FORMER BOBCAT PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE KRIS ATTEBERRY: "Corey Smith made punts the most exciting plays in a given game. An absolute coil of electricity, whose iconic return against the Grizzlies will stand the test of time as one of the greatest moments in program history."
Corey Smith, WR/RS, 2000-03
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: 1st Team All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky return specialists in 2003
A CLOSER LOOK: There's an important scene in the wonderful movie The Sandlot where Benny The Jet Rodriguez is taking advice from the ghost of Babe Ruth. (It's great. Seriously.)
After convincing the young ballplayer to overcome his fears and do something that seems impossible, the Bambino's apparition says, fading back into the ether, "Remember, kid, there's heroes, and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
Corey Smith woke up a hero on November 22, 2003. He went to bed a Bobcat legend.
At 12:05 pm, UM kicker Kris Snyder dribbled the opening kickoff to Smith at the 10-yard line. He glided upfield, angled toward the hash near the home sideline, and the crowd roared. He moved toward the sideline and caught an alley, and the roar deafened. The stadium shook. We all knew what was happening.
Bobcat play-by-play voice Kris Atteberry described it this way: "He's down the sideline, to the 20. The 10. He'll walk into the end zone! This place is off the hook!!!"
Man, was it ever. The 15,087 assembled had seen history, the first player in Cat-Griz history to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown. What goes forgotten about that game is that UM dominated statistically, getting 369 yards to MSU's 195 and 23 first downs to the Bobcats' 10. But it didn't matter. When Kenny Qualls returned an interception for a touchdown late in the first half, MSU improbably held a 13-10 lead. Bruce Molock scored late in the third quarter, and Travis Lulay punched one in early in the fourth. UM rallied, but the Cats won. It was Montana State's first win against the Grizzlies in Bozeman since 1987. The goal posts disappeared shortly after the final whistle blew, last seen being marched down Willson toward downtown. The revelry lasted well into Sunday, maybe Monday in some quarters. It was amazing.
And so was Smith's 2003 season. The Tacoma product caught 36 passes for 465 yards and a touchdown. He also returned 20 kickoffs for 664 yards and two touchdowns. And he brought back 35 punts for 545 yards, four to the house. He became the first player in Big Sky history to return two punts for touchdowns, and a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, in a single game.
It was like a blur, and it started early. Smith returned a punt 49 yards in game two to help ignite a 38-3 win over nationally-ranked Gardner-Webb, but wasn't finished. He returned an early fourth quarter kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, as well. He caught his only touchdown pass of the season in a week seven win over Weber State. In the season's ninth game, Smith returned a punt 80 yards and another 48 yards for touchdowns in a 56-7 win against Sacramento State. Against Portland State, Smith ran a punt back 62 yards to help the Cats seal a win. That was game 11. It was game 12, the Cat-Griz game, when everything went one notch higher for Corey Smith. A Bobcat legend.
FROM TEAMMATE TRAVIS LULAY: "Corey was super dynamic. My sophomore year, we had a good football team, but we lost (All-America) Junior Adams who graduated and (receiver) Tiger Hill didn't come back and we just weren't quite as explosive offensively as we were the year before. Ryan Johnson also graduated. So when you're not as dynamic offensively you rely a little more on special teams. The whole unit was tremendous, but Corey i s the guy with the ball in his hands.
"The one no one will ever forget is the opening kickoff at that Cat-Griz game, but we played in a tight game against Portland State and Corey had a kickoff return in that game. When you look at the football analysis stuff your chances of winning go significantly higher when you return a kick (for a touchdown). He was so natural as a return man. He made some big plays as a receiver but he absolutely changed games as a returner."
FROM FORMER BOBCAT PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE KRIS ATTEBERRY: "Corey Smith made punts the most exciting plays in a given game. An absolute coil of electricity, whose iconic return against the Grizzlies will stand the test of time as one of the greatest moments in program history."
Leon Costello Press Conference: Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center
Thursday, July 31
A Conversation with President Dr. Waded Cruzado | Montana State Athletics
Monday, May 19
Big Cats, Little Trucks - Willie Patterson
Wednesday, May 03
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, May 03
