SALISBURY, N.C. — Salisbury native and former Carolina Panther Chris Smith has passed away, according to a tweet from his alma mater, West Rowan Football.
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The defensive end played football at West Rowan High School and the school later retired his number. Smith went to Arkansas and was a fifth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
He became the newest member of the Panthers in 2020 but was later released.
Smith also played for several other teams during his career. He most recently signed with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons.
He was 31.
On Tuesday, the West Rowan High School community was in mourning. Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz spoke to some of the people who knew him best. They said though many knew him for his performance on the field, he was bigger than football.
“What they lose first and foremost is a good human being. I can’t tell you how great of a person he was,” said Louis Kraft, who played alongside Smith.
Kraft now serves as head coach at West Rowan. He said Smith’s passing hurts far more than any tackle the defensive end made.
“All he cared about was giving to others and taking care of others before himself,” Kraft said.
Smith’s cause of death has not been released, but his former principal Jamie Durant isn’t focused on that.
“If you knew Chris, I think he’d want people to celebrate the impact that he had, not focus on his death,” Durant said.
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Durant remembers Smith’s drive and tenacity -- from playing the drums in high school to shooting hoops on the basketball court, and even doing tasks that were more challenging.
“He wasn’t the greatest math student, but he was the hardest working math student in the classroom,” Durant said.
Both Durant and Kraft also said Smith was a giver who never forgot where he came from.
“As soon as he felt comfortable, he came to us and asked, ‘What do you need? I want to help the school,’” Durant said.
Those who knew the eight-season NFL player know his work ethic got him there, but they also know the other tragedy his passing brings. His youngest daughter now has no parents; her mother was killed in a car accident in 2019.
Now, his daughter’s healing is the priority for those closest to Smith.
“Now she is without a mom or a dad, and that’s where we should center our prayers and thoughts towards,” Kraft said.
Back in 2020, Channel 9 spoke to Chris Smith as he continued to honor his late girlfriend. At the time, he showed us a tattoo on his arm that read “stay strong.” Those who know him are doing just that -- they say it’s what he would want them to do.
(VIDEO: Panthers’ new defensive end continues to honor girlfriend months after tragic death)
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