12/27/2019 football Edit

Bruce Smith named to All-Time All-America team

Tim Sullivan • HokieHaven

Editor

Tim Sullivan is the Editor of HokieHaven.com. A University of Michigan alumnus, he is a decade-plus veteran of the recruiting industry.

BRISTOL – Virginia Tech’s Bruce Smith was selected as a second-team defensive end on ESPN’s College Football All-Time All-America Team on Thursday. The prestigious squad was comprised of a First Team and a Second Team, with 11 players on offense, 11 on defense, a kicker, a punter and an all-purpose player on both teams.

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The unifying theme of the 25 players on the All-Time All-America team is that their presence on the field changed the game: how it is played, the expectation of a position, even how we watch.

Smith didn't play football until his sophomore year at Booker T. Washington High in Norfolk, Virginia. As a senior, he made all-state. By the time he left Blacksburg four years later, the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Smith had redefined the position of college defensive end. He became among the first to bring a linebacker's speed to the defensive line, and pity the poor offensive tackles who tried to do something about him. He had 22.0 sacks in his breakout junior season, 1983, before becoming a consensus All-American and Outland Trophy winner as a senior. He remains, 35 years later, arguably the best player ever to put on a Hokies’ uniform.

The All-Time All-America team derived from the vote of a blue-ribbon panel assembled earlier this year. The 25 players represent a span of nearly 90 years, from the Roaring '20s to the 21st century. They represent 19 schools.

A member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Smith starred for the Hokies from 1981-84. He earned first-team All-America honors in both 1983 and 1984. The number one overall selection in the 1985 NFL Draft.

Earlier this year, Smith was named to the National Football League’s list of the 100 greatest players in league history as part of the NFL’s continuing celebration of its 100th season. That list of luminaries included Smith, who owns the league’s all-time sack crown with 200.0 career QB takedowns He helped lead the Buffalo Bills to four Super Bowl appearances as he accumulated 11 Pro Bowl berths and eight All-Pro selections.