FRISCO, Texas – Leonard Smith, one of the greatest football players in the history of McNeese State University and a member of the McNeese, Louisiana Sports and College Football Halls of Fame, will be inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Honor the league announced on Thursday.
Joining him as part of the 2016 Class will be former Southland Conference and current Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey and former Southeastern Louisiana standout pitcher Wade Miley. The induction, part of the Southland Conference's Spring Meeting, will take place during its Honors Ceremony on May 24, at Frisco's Westin Stonebriar Hotel.
Smith, Sankey and Miley will become the 47th, 48th and 49th inductees into the Southland Hall of Honor since it originated in 1999 while Smith will be the ninth representative from McNeese.
"We are truly honored to recognize and celebrate the inductions of Greg Sankey, a veteran and distinguished leader in collegiate athletics, and two of the finest student-athletes in Southland history, Wade Miley and Leonard Smith," Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett said. "All three are truly deserving of this tribute and it's a thrill to induct them into the Hall of Honor."
A native of Baton Rouge and graduate of Lee High, Smith had been courted by major football powers, including LSU, during his prep career. A deep thigh bruise put him on the sidelines for most of his senior season and opened the door for McNeese.
He played for the Cowboys from 1979-82, playing freshman ball in 1979, and became one of the greatest defenders in McNeese and Southland history. He earned first-team All-America honors in 1982 from the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association to go along with his first-team all-Southland awards in 1981 and 1982.
As a sophomore in 1980 he became a starter and earned the first of three straight all-conference honors and helping lead the Cowboys to a 10-2 overall record and the Southland title as well as the program's third Independence Bowl appearance as McNeese lost a narrow 16-14 decision to Southern Mississippi.
During his college career, he blocked 17 kicks which continues to be a school, Louisiana, Southland and NCAA record.
In 1983, he became the highest-ever NFL draft pick from the Southland, as Smith was the 17th overall selection in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals. That began a nine-year career with the Cardinals and Buffalo Bills, including an All-Pro selection in 1986, and as a key defender in Buffalo's runs to Super Bowls XXV and XXVI.
In 1996, Smith was honored with induction into the McNeese Hall of Fame, and in 2013 was named to the Southland Conference's All-Time 50th Anniversary Football Team.
In 2014, he became only the second Southland student-athlete to gain induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, and in 2015 he was selected for entry into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Also in 2015, the Shreveport Times named Smith as one of the 40 greatest players in Independence Bowl history.
McNeese Southland Conference Hall of Honor Inductees
1999 Moe O'Brien
2007
Louis Bonnette
2007 Bob Hayes
2009 Joe Dumars
2011 Sonny Watkins
2012
Kerry Joseph
2014 Bobby Keasler
2015 Dr. Jack Doland
2016 Leonard Smith
