Footnotes (or musings from the editor)

SMC-to-NFL: SMC has a way of sending its alumni to the Super Bowl – and then watching them score touchdowns in the battle royal of pro football.

This year it was Steve Smith, wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, who has had a stellar career with the team since being drafted three years ago. Though the Panthers just barely lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, Smith showed his stuff when he scored a touchdown in the last minute of the first half of the game.

Smith played Corsair football for two seasons in 1997 and 1998 and transferred to the University of Utah, where he graduated in 1999. A second-draft choice for Carolina, he made his mark fast – as the only rookie elected to the 2001 Pro Bowl and as leader of the NFC, and second-ranked in the NFL, with a 25.6-yard kickoff return average in 2001. Since being drafted, he ranks third in the NFL with 3,903 combined net yards.

Smith follows in the footsteps of such famous players as SMC alum Isaac Bruce, who scored the winning touchdown in the 2000 Super Bowl to give the St. Louis Rams a 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Another Corsair player with Super Bowl connections is Donnie Henderson, a coach with the Baltimore Ravens when they won the 2001 Super Bowl. Henderson, who played at SMC in the 1970s, is now defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

Other former Corsairs in the NFL are Chad Johnson, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Brian Stewart, a secondary coach for the San Diego Chargers.