Wake Forest is mourning one of the most decorated defenders in its football history.
Alphonso Smith, a 2025 Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame inductee and one of the ACC’s all-time ballhawks, died on Sept. 2, 2026. He leaves behind a Wake Forest legacy built on interceptions, big plays and a knack for changing games at the biggest moments.
Smith still stands as the ACC career leader with 21 interceptions, and he ranks second in Wake Forest history with 61 passes defended. He was also an important part of the 2006 ACC Championship team.
“First and foremost, I am heartbroken,” said Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer Jim Grobe. “Alphonso was one of those special people that every time you saw him, he had a big smile on his face and he just made you feel better to be around him.
And he was obviously a great football player, too. I just loved him and he was great to have on our football team.
The team loved him, and he was a difference maker. He won a bunch of games for us and he made a lot of plays, especially late in the fourth quarter that turned games around and won games for us.
He was an instinctive player. But, the No. 1 attribute I remember about Alphonso is his smile.
He was a blessing for us.”
Smith arrived at Wake Forest in 2005 and made an immediate impact, earning first-team Freshman All-American honors from CollegeFootballNews.com, ESPN.com and Scout.com. He was also a second-team Freshman All-American selection by The Sporting News and Rivals.com, and finished that freshman year on the Sporting News ACC All-Freshman Team.
His most famous moment came as a junior in 2007, when he returned an interception 100 yards against Maryland - the longest return in school history. That play helped fuel Wake Forest’s comeback from a 24-3 deficit in a 31-24 overtime win over the Terrapins. Smith finished that season with a school-record eight interceptions, the top total in both the NCAA and ACC.
The accolades piled up after that. Smith earned first-team All-ACC honors in 2007, along with second-team All-American recognition from Walter Camp, third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press and honorable mention All-American status from Sports Illustrated.
He wrapped up his Wake Forest career in 2008 with seven more interceptions and another first-team All-ACC nod, his second straight. That season also brought first-team All-American recognition from the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association, Walter Camp and CBS Sports.
Smith was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player.
The Denver Broncos selected him in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and his pro career also included three seasons with the Detroit Lions. In the NFL, he finished with 88 tackles, 19 pass deflections, eight interceptions, two defensive touchdowns and two fumbles forced.
In Other News...
Colorado Defense May Have Found An Immediate Difference Maker
Lamont Lester Jr. wasted little time making his presence felt for Colorado, turning in a breakout night against Georgia Tech with three sacks. One of them came at a pivotal third-quarter moment, ending a drive and giving the Buffaloes a jolt from a defensive newcomer who looked anything but new to the stage.
Lester had already shown the mindset for this kind of performance in a previous podcast interview, describing himself as relentless and intent on dominating while continuing to improve. He also pointed to the coaching he received at Monmouth and said confidence and preparation were central to his development, which is exactly the kind of foundation Colorado will be hoping translates into more immediate impact. [Read more 🡒]
Former Colorado Defender Just Added Real Emotion To The Georgia Tech Opener
Ahead of the season opener, Georgia Tech defensive tackle Tawfiq Thomas put a little extra edge into a matchup that already had plenty of built-in intrigue. Thomas, who spent time at Louisville and Colorado before transferring to Atlanta, is giving the Yellow Jackets some help on the defensive line after a career that included a stint under Deion Sanders with the Buffs and a run of production that made him a meaningful addition for his new team.
Thomas also made it clear the opener carries more than ordinary first-game stakes for him. In a social media post, he expressed a desire for revenge against his former school, turning a nonconference matchup into something more personal and giving Colorado another layer to think about as it gets ready to open the year against a player who knows the program from the inside. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados 2026 Offense Hinges On One Huge Question
Colorados offense for 2026 is already taking shape around a familiar kind of optimism, with Deion Sanders entering another season and new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion charged with keeping the unit moving in the right direction. The early read points to quarterback Julian Lewis as the most important piece, after a promising freshman season that set him up to be the expected starter and the centerpiece of whatever Marion wants to build.
Joseph Williams also looms as a possible difference-maker at receiver, giving the Buffaloes at least one more name to watch as the offense comes into focus. Still, the bigger question is whether Lewis can make the leap from promising young quarterback to true driver of the attack, because for Colorado, the answer may define how much Marion can open things up in his first year calling the offense. [Read more 🡒]