KELVIN SMITH JR.

NORTH ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 2002

From North Rockland High School to Syracuse University to the National Football League, Kelvin Smith Jr. represented his school and county with distinction and showed that the brand of football played in the small community of Rockland can stack up favorably with more highly touted hotbeds. Kelvin played four years in the NFL for Miami, Carolina and Dallas as a hard-hitting 6-foot-2, 230-pound inside linebacker.

“I was just a kid from Rockland who had a dream, and the dream came true,” says Kelvin, whose dad, Kelvin Sr., also played football for North Rockland.

Although he also ran track and played basketball at North Rockland, Kelvin carved out his largest niche on the gridiron. A three-year varsity performer, he starred on both sides of the ball, most prominently as a linebacker and fullback. By his senior year, he was attracting fervent interest from several Division I college programs, including Maryland, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Rutgers.

As a middle linebacker in the 2001 season, Kelvin made 150 tackles, intercepted six passes, recovered three fumbles, and was known as a fearsome tackler. Offensively, he rushed for more than 700 yards and seven touchdowns. A two-year team captain, Kelvin was named first-team All-New York State and was runner-up for state Player of the Year. Anchored by Kelvin, quarterback Gregg Damon, running back Phil DeCosta (County record 29 TDs) and others, the Red Raiders advanced to the state Class AA championship game before bowing to Webster of suburban Rochester.

Reaping Individual and Team Success

During Kelvin’s three years on varsity, North Rockland went 29-3, won two Section 1 large-school titles and advanced to the state tournament twice. He was a two-time, first team All-County linebacker and Rockland and Section 1 Player of the Year as a senior.

Kelvin, also known as KJ, remembers playing in “a lot of big playoff games” for North Rockland, under  head coach Joe Casarella and his accomplished coaching staff. Kelvin expressed gratitude for Casarella’s guidance. “He really looked out for me, and treated me like family,” Kelvin says. “He gave me confidence. I watched him move around with bravado and wanted to move around the same way. He expected greatness [from his players]. He was my biggest influence and supporter.”

Track & field was a secondary sport for Kelvin, something he did to stay in shape for football. In his first season with the spring track team, as a junior, he set the school record in the challenging five-event pentathlon, with 3,078 points. He had great respect for Coach Gene Dall, who pushed Kelvin to exceed his limits in events that tested his speed, strength, jumping ability and endurance. Kelvin also played two seasons of basketball as a power forward for Coach Chris Roff.

Following the Path to Syracuse

When it came time to decide on a college, Kelvin accepted a full athletic scholarship to attend Syracuse University, just as his uncle, Keith Bulluck, did. Bulluck starred at Clarkstown North, Syracuse, and during an 11-year NFL career as a linebacker with the Tennessee Titans (10 years) and New York Giants (one year). “He is like a big brother to me,” says Kelvin, who is just seven years younger than Keith. “I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I watched him do what he did and wanted to do the same thing when I got the chance.” [Bulluck was inducted into the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.]

Kelvin certainly made his uncle proud, achieving third-team freshman All-America status at linebacker, making the Big East All-Freshman team, and qualifying to travel with the team, one of the only redshirt freshmen to earn that privilege. He was thrust into the role of first-string strong side linebacker during his sophomore year, when the starter tore his ACL in the third quarter of the game against North Carolina. “I was like a deer in the headlights,” Kelvin says. “Now I’m the starter. I’m the youngest guy on the defense.” He knew he belonged when he stopped the Tar Heels’ running back on a trap play at Syracuse’s 1-yard line with a ferocious hit. “I lit him up,” he quips.

Kelvin was switched to inside linebacker when Greg Robinson, the defensive coordinator at Texas, succeeded Paul Pasqualoni as Syracuse head coach before Kelvin’s  junior year. “That changed the trajectory of my career,” he says. “I flourished at that position.” As a senior Kelvin made second team All-Big East, earned team MVP honors, and served as a team captain at the East-West Shrine Bowl. In his four seasons with the Orange, Kelvin recorded 191 tackles, 129 assists and five interceptions.

Making the Big-Time

A double major candidate, Kelvin graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management and a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies. Thereafter he was selected in the seventh round of the NFL draft by Miami and played two seasons for the Dolphins at inside linebacker. He was reunited with Paul Pasqualoni when the coach was hired as Miami’s defensive coordinator in Kelvin’s second year.

Kelvin played in the final four games of his rookie season, which he called a whirlwind of activity from draft day to the end of the season. Although Miami went just 1-15 that year, he was thrilled to have been drafted and playing alongside two of his football heroes, linebackers Joey Porter and Zach Thomas. “My locker was between these two guys, who I watched my whole life and looked up to.”

The 2008 season got off to a rocky start when Kelvin tore an ACL during a preseason game against Tampa Bay. He was essentially released by Bill Parcells, who was the Dolphins’ vice president of football operations. Kelvin underwent surgery in NYC and rehabbed both there and in Phoenix, Ariz., supervised by physical therapist Brett Fischer, who’s currently the director of player health and performance for the Detroit Lions. “He got my knee back in shape,” Kelvin says. After a seven-month rehab, Kelvin participated in the Giants’ rookie mini-camp in the spring but was cut from the roster before the summer.

Kelvin then latched on with the Carolina Panthers, excelled in their preseason camp and made the squad, playing in three games during the 2009 season with top linebackers such as Jon Beason, Julius Peppers and Thomas Davis. “Carolina was my favorite team to play for,” he says. “There was a lot of camaraderie.” He also received strong counsel and support from teammate Steve Smith Sr., a wide receiver. “He took me under his wing and looked out for me,” Kelvin says. “He was my ‘brother from another mother.’ The Smiths have to stick together.”

After being released by Carolina in a roster shuffle, Kelvin had a brief stint in Chicago Bears camp, then was picked up by the Cowboys in October 2010 and remained on the practice squad for the rest of the season. He attempted to make the Panthers roster for the 2011 season but hamstring injuries put an end to that quest and effectively ended his pro career.

New Horizons: Performance Coaching

These days Kelvin runs a performance coaching business in Katy, Texas. While living in Woodland Hills, Calif., and employed at Ryan Capretta’s Proactive Sports Performance group, he worked with such marquee athletes as Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and DeMarcus Cousins. In his own enterprise he has trained a spectrum of clients from former NBA players Kenyon Martin and Al Harrington and ex-NFL star Dante Jones, to high school athletes and young and old alike. He currently also coaches his son’s Pop Warner football team.

Kelvin, who turned 40 in March, resides in Katy with his wife, Jessica; their son, Avery, 10; and daughter, Marley, 4. Kelvin grew up in Spring Valley and attended Spring Valley High School for one year – playing on varsity as a freshman at linebacker and wide receiver – before transferring to North Rockland. His mother, Felicia Avery, died in late December 2011 at age 46. His father, Kelvin Sr., was a longtime resident of Haverstraw and serves as assistant coach for the Red Raiders football team, working with wide receivers.

Kelvin was enshrined in the North Rockland Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. The Red Raiders jersey that he sometimes wears casually around home in Texas has been mistaken for a Texas Tech Red Raiders shirt by acquaintances, but Kelvin is quick to set them straight: “No, North Rockland Red Raiders!”

Now he will have to make room in his trophy case for another induction award, from the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Kelvin Smith Jr.!