Alphonso Smith Jr., a former NFL player with the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions, passed away on September 2. He died by suicide.
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As reported by TMZ, he died at a housing community in Florida at age 4o. Further details surrounding his death are not available. However, it is known that he was struggling with his mental health, as his last Facebook post, which he made hours before his suicide, revealed his struggles.
He had written: “Do not cry for me! 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! I am a piece of sh-t! It’s a lot of you that are! I am A COWARD! A HUGE COWARD!
“To my kids, daddy is SO SORRY! To my friends, I love you all, but your boy was f–ked up! To my family, BABY, my MOM, my siblings, things happened to you boy, your brother while I was little that an older lady did onto me. As a result guys, I did the same onto others! Please forgive me!
“I am the WORST & I pray my soul rest in heaven for my heart is pure, but my BRAIN & experience is MESSED UP.”
Alphonso Smith was once proud of his strength
At 5-foot-9 and 193 pounds, Alphonso Smith didn’t exactly fit the prototype NFL teams were used to seeing. Yet the Wake Forest cornerback had still earned first-round grades heading into the 2009 NFL Combine. The projection was there… but the testing never quite matched it.
Smith failed to crack the top five in any of the Combine’s tests, leaving a highly regarded prospect without a single standout showing on the biggest pre-draft stage.
The numbers told their own story. Smith left Wake Forest with 21 career interceptions, the most in ACC history, including a staggering eight during the 2008 season. But his game wasn’t built on statistics alone. Talent evaluators viewed him as fearless when stepping into the run game and supremely confident when left to handle receivers one-on-one. Smith didn’t need much convincing, either. He carried that same belief in his own ability.
“All my life, I’ve been a winner,” Smith said back then. “All my life, I’ve had this attitude where I don’t care who you are, where you’ve been, who your father is, who you play for, I don’t care. It’s me versus you, and I’m going to try and come out on top. That goes for everyone.”
Before he stepped onto an NFL field, Smith was tearing it up at Wake Forest. He played there from 2005 to 2008 and closed out his college career with All-American honors. The numbers back it up too. In 2007 and 2008, he led all of Division I in interceptions, picking off eight and seven interceptions in those two seasons.
In 2007 alone, he also returned three interceptions for touchdowns, another stat that topped the country. Wake Forest inducted him into its athletic hall of fame in 2022. He remains one of the best players in the program’s history, and his college career total of 21 interceptions remains unbroken in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
He went to Wake Forest after Florida State had pulled an offer, and he had withdrawn his pledge from Pittsburgh.
“He is one of my all-time favorite guys who I have coached,” Dean Hood, Wake Forest’s former defensive coordinator, said in 2021. “I have some grey hairs I can attribute to Alphonso.”
Later, Smith’s NFL career started with the Denver Broncos, who drafted him in 2009. Denver had traded with the Seattle Seahawks that year to draft him, giving them a first-round pick in 2010 in return.
That stint didn’t last long, though. Denver traded him to Detroit just a year later, and Smith made the most of his first season with the Lions, picking off a career-high five passes. He followed that up with three more interceptions the next year, but 2012 was rough.
He only appeared in four games before Detroit waived him that November, and no other team picked him up after that. Over four NFL seasons, Smith played in 42 games, made 87 tackles, and grabbed eight interceptions.
Those who watched him play and knew him personally are sending their condolences to Smith’s family and friends during this difficult time.
Suicide Helpline: If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, or call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline. Trained crisis workers will listen to you and direct you to the resources you need.