Smith's tight end record at BYU has finally fallen

This past week, Chris Smith's NCAA record for yards receiving by a tight end fell.

It had a great run.

The BYU tight end, who played with Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, set the mark 15 years ago. Until Tulsa tight end Garrett Mills hauled in a 28-yard catch against Central Florida in the Conference USA championship game last Saturday, Smith's mark ruled.

The record of 1,156 yards in one season is now 1,164, and it came on that catch by Mills with 2:06 left in the game. Eight yards. It fell by just eight yards.

"Dang it, I didn't know it was broken," Smith said when contacted this week.

"That destroys me," he laughed. "I thought it would last, that it would be there for a long time. But 15 years is a good run. I'm proud of it."

Those 15 years are a long time. There are plenty of great tight ends who've come and gone in college football, putting up all kinds of numbers. Four Cougars who went after Smith — Gabriel Reid, Itula Mili, Doug Jolley and Chad Lewis — are still in the big league.

But Smith never made the big time beyond college. He signed with the University of Arizona and transferred to BYU, where he helped set all kinds of marks with Detmer.

But Smith is one of those guys whose life has a "rest of the story" legacy few ever knew. His record may have died this past week. But there are records, then there are records.

Smith grew up with seven brothers in an extremely competitive atmosphere. His parents, Robert and Kay Smith, moved from Colorado to California when Chris entered the ninth grade. His older brother Kenny played noseguard at BYU. The Smith family settled in a small mountain community, nestled between Pasadena and Glendale, called La Canada. Robert Smith worked for a company that exported cement from Taiwan.

For the Smiths, their seven sons merged with three adopted daughters for a round number of 10. Kay Smith called Chris her peacemaker, a positive-minded No. 5 child. It was his compassion that she'll remember.

Chris is 11 months older than Carlton, who has cerebral palsy and lived without the use of his legs. As they grew up, Chris and Carlton were the perfect example of the cruel paradox nature sometimes plays.

Chris became one of the most celebrated athletes in the history of La Canada. Big, strong, fast, he helped set a national high school relay record in track. He set a school record in the 400 meters with a dash of 47.3 seconds. In football, he played wide receiver and helped La Canada to the most recognition it ever had in athletics. He had scholarship offers from UCLA, USC, Washington, Arizona and BYU.