Akili Smith
Kabisa Akili Maradufu Smith (born August 21, 1975 in San Diego, California) was the third overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft after Tim Couch and Donovan McNabb. Despite the initial hype surrounding his success as the quarterback at the University of Oregon, he did not fit in with the Cincinnati Bengals, and played only two games in 2001 and was cut in 2002. He was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in June 2005.
College success
Smith rocketed to the foreground of draft discussions because of his stellar performance in his senior year at Oregon, throwing 32 touchdown passes. Prior to that, Smith graduated from Lincoln High School, the alma mater of Marcus Allen and Terrell Davis.
NFL career
Draft
At the 1999 NFL Draft, Smith faced stiff competition from other rising quarterbacks. In a year when five quarterbacks would be drafted in the first round, Smith was the third quarterback and third player selected overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith was selected ahead of the following players in the first round: Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, Daunte Culpepper, and Jevon Kearse.
Prior to his drafting there was a huge effort by the New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Ditka and management to get the Bengals' high draft position so the Saints could get Ricky Williams. The final offer, which was refused by the Bengals management, was for 9 draft picks, several extra in this year as well as many in the next year. Instead of taking the trade, the Bengals stuck with their initial decision to draft Smith, who, while undeniably athletic -- he had also played some professional baseball -- was still largely unproven, having only impressed at the college level for one season.
Smith missed large periods of 1999 pre-season training with the Bengals due to contract disputes; many pundits later speculated that his absence from this short training period hurt him immensely in the seasons to come. Despite incredible shows of athleticism in his early games, he failed to grasp the Bengals playbook fully, and never established himself with the team. Throughout the four years he was with the Bengals, he would only start in 17 games, eventually being cut entirely in the 2002 season.
Smith joined other highly drafted Bengals players such as David Klingler, Ki-Jana Carter, Dan Wilkinson, and Peter Warrick who as a result of injury, bad work ethic, bad management and coaching decisions, or simply poor performance, failed to live up to the high expectations that came with being selected early in the first round. Such picks are considered a major reason for the Bengals' dismal performances during the 1990's and early 2000's.
In 2003, Smith tried out as Brett Favre's backup, but again failed to mesh with the team. In 2005, he was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a visit to NFL Europe where he started 4 games.