Kevin Smith to be 12th Texas A&M player enshrined in CFB Hall of Fame

Pup was a dawg.

Anyone who saw Kevin Smith hound receivers like an energetic puppy already knew that. Now, the rest of the country will know it, too.

Smith — aka “Pup” — is arguably the greatest cornerback in Texas A&M history. He was named to the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class on Monday. He’ll be officially inducted into the Atlanta shrine on Dec. 10 at an awards dinner in Las Vegas.

Smith, 53, is quite literally the 12th Man. He’ll be the 12th Aggie football player to be enshrined.

There’s no doubt he’s deserving. Hall of Fame inductees are required to have earned All-American recognition.

Smith met that criteria as a consensus All-American in 1991 when he was named the nation’s top defensive back and was a semifinalist for the Defensive Player of the Year. That year, he helped the Aggies win the Southwest Conference Championship and finish 10-2.

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Smith was a key piece in A&M leading the nation in total defense (222.4 YPG) in 1991.

Smith, a three-time All-Southwest Conference selection, remains A&M’s all-time leader in interceptions with 20, interception return yardage (289) and interceptions for touchdowns (3). He also was credited with breaking up 32 passes.

“He’s very deserving of being in the Hall of Fame,” former A&M head coach R.C. Slocum said. “I’m happy for him. He’s a great representative of A&M.

“He was easy (to coach). He had all the tools. He was a great player and a great person, which made him special. We never had one bit of trouble out of him. And if we had, I just would’ve called his mother and she would have taken care of it.”

No one would dispute Smith belongs in the Hall. The only question is, why did it take so long?

Players are eligible 10 years after their collegiate career ends. Smith waited 22 years to get the call from the Hall.

Actually, Smith waited a little longer, but only because he hadn’t made it a point to regularly check his phone.

“(Monday) in Dallas was an ugly, gloomy day,” said Smith, who was a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1992 NFL Draft. “I powered my phone off in the store and didn’t power it back on for a while.

“I got a call from coach Slocum about 3:30. I thought he was calling to say I didn’t get voted in. He said, ‘You haven’t gotten any news?’ I said, 'Let me look at my phone.’”

That’s when Smith saw he’d gotten a couple of text messages from A&M sports information director Alan Cannon. There was also a text from head coach Mike Elko and another from Director or Athletics Ross Bjork.

When Smith finally checked those messages, he learned he was part of the 19-member class, which also includes receivers Randy Moss of Marshall and Larry Fitzgerald of Pittsburgh, quarterback Alex Smith of Utah and defensive end Julius Peppers of North Carolina.

“It means a lot,” Smith said. “We have a group text for about 25 former (A&M) players. They all congratulated me.”

Smith said playing alongside those teammates is what he remembers most about his career at A&M.

“What I treasure the most was being around those guys, competing and being able to do some of the things we could do together,” he said. “That’s what helped me get individual accolades.

“I don’t really remember the plays. What I do remember is looking up and seeing 65-to-70,000 at Kyle Field. It was just a thrill walking into the stadium and the spirit of Aggieland.

“I was really honored to represent Texas A&M as a student-athlete. I wanted to be there, and I wanted my teammates to be there.”

Smith hopes a lot of teammates and others will be in Las Vegas for the induction ceremony in December.

“I’m going to enjoy the day,” he said. “Hopefully, my mom can make it. And my teammates and coaches.

“You (TexAgs) should come too. I know Looch won’t turn down a trip to Vegas.”