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Their last names are common, but their work is uncommon. Their backgrounds are diverse, but their views of society are closely aligned.
Alex Smith and Steve Smith missed one another at the University of Utah by a couple of years and never have played together in the NFL. In their own ways, they have become two of the most prominent Ute alumni ever to perform in the league, and they're being recognized for efforts beyond football.
Kansas City's Alex Smith and Baltimore's Steve Smith are their teams' nominees for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award for excellence on and off the field. So the Utes can claim strong ties to 1/16th of the best people in pro football.
"I'm not surprised," said Utah associate athletic director Manny Hendrix. "It's interesting, because they couldn't be more different … two totally different backgrounds. Yet they have a lot of the same things in common. They're passionate, loyal, family men."
They're also really good players, and they've supported their school. The 19,000-square-foot Alex Smith Strength & Conditioning Center is one illustration, and the quarterback also delivered a 2014 commencement address. Endowed scholarships for a receiver and a diverse student, provided by Steve Smith and his wife, Angie, are two other examples.
Hendrix marvels about how they keep up with the Utes and stay in touch with athletic department staff members and former teammates. "That amazes me," he said. "They always seem to know what's going on at Utah."
Alex Smith is thriving as Kansas City's quarterback in his fourth season since being traded from San Francisco, proving that Utah and BYU graduates can work together. Chiefs coach Andy Reid, a former BYU offensive lineman, acquired Smith with the endorsement of ex-Cougar teammate Kyle Whittingham, and Kansas City has gone 41-20 in regular-season games during their partnership. The Chiefs (10-3) are tied with Oakland for the AFC West lead.
Steve Smith, having returned from an Achilles' injury for a 16th and final pro season, has moved to No. 8 on the NFL's all-time receiving-yards list and recently caught his 1,000th pass. He could become Utah's next member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
They've both made a lot of money playing football, but not everybody gives back big chunks of it or looks beyond themselves in an effort to help others. The Smiths do. "They're just good people, and that's rare, with the success that they've had," Hendrix said.
The way they were raised left them no choice but to help others — but for vastly different reasons.
Alex Smith grew up in suburban San Diego as a son of a high school principal and a director of health and human services. His foundation provides college scholarships for foster children and has produced remarkable success in both graduation rates and efficiency of operation.
Soon after he joined the 49ers as the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, he launched his foundation with the help of his mother, Pam. He was inspired after watching a team of foster children play eight-man football for their residential high school.
"It really struck Alex," his mother once said. "The truth of the matter is they couldn't have been further apart in their worlds."
That comparison could be applied to Steve Smith, who's from South Central Los Angeles. The often-told story about his youth is how he rode a bus to Taco Bell during four years of high school and junior college football, working his way up to a $6.15 hourly wage. More recently, he has talked about how his mother was abused by her husband (not his father), motivating him to support victims of domestic violence and engage in other family-oriented efforts through his foundation.
The Utes are enjoying a nice run of good guys in the NFL. Last season, Steve Smith and Jacksonville offensive lineman Zane Beadles were Man of the Year nominees.
One of Hendrix's favorite sayings is, "Whatever you do in the dark always comes to light."
He uses that phrase to explain how the former Utes — including Steve Smith, his demonstrative on-field persona aside — don't seek publicity for their charitable efforts, but they're being recognized.
"In our minds," Hendrix said, "they're Men of the Year every year."
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