Growing up in El Paso, Texas, Smith possessed the requisite large-scale football dreams of anyone who stars in Texas' rough-and-tumble gridiron environment. But unlike many Lone Star State kids, his stars weren't navy blue and perched upon metallic blue helmets in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Smith's were to the north, in Colorado.

"Ever since I was little I liked the horse on the helmet," Smith said.

Smith played, watched and grew up. He delighted in The Drive. He lived and died with every John Elway pass. He high-fived over the back-to-back Super Bowl wins as his career at the University of Texas-El Paso blossomed to where the NFL was no longer a long-shot dream, but a realistic career option.

But in 2000, the San Francisco 49ers used a fifth-round pick on Smith. He would establish a toehold in the NFL in the Bay Area. But as his professional career progressed, the tug of his childhood heroes pulled at his heart.

"Every time I was released from a team, I had my agent call (the Broncos) and see if there were any opportunities for me out here," Smith said.

When unrestricted free agency dawned, Smith hit the market, and the Broncos could finally tell Smith what he wanted to hear.

"As soon as Denver called, I was ready to come, get pen on paper and get started," Smith said.

Smith started eight games as a fullback the last two seasons -- five with Detroit in 2005 and three in St. Louis last year. But it's his work on special teams that was just as attractive to the Broncos as his backfield duties.

In 2006, Smith played on the Rams' punt coverage, punt return, kickoff coverage and kickoff return units. Such contributions could make him invaluable in the Broncos' offseason remodeling of its special teams.

"We just liked what we saw with his competitiveness and certainly his production on special teams," General Manager Ted Sundquist said. "With our new special-teams coordinator, Scott O’Brien, he puts a premium on that (area of the game) and this is a guy who was really a core guy for the Rams last year on that side of the ball."

But the chance to compete for playing time at fullback exists for Smith.

"(The Broncos) asked me where I saw myself, and I told them I see myself contributing on special teams, and also on offense," Smith said.

Added Sundquist: "He’s athletic. I think he’s got good hands, which is important for our fullbacks, being able to slip out in the flat, catch passes at the goal line and things like that.

"He was wanting to expand his role, and we’re going to give him that opportunity."

Fullback wasn't always part of the plan for Smith, who joined the 49ers as a running back after gaining 2,539 yards and averaging 4.1 yards per carry during four years at UTEP.

But longtime NFL fullback Tom Rathman -- who was San Francisco's running backs coach at the time Smith arrived -- saw something different and guided him through the switch.

"He told me that with my style of play he saw me as more of a fullback," Smith recalled.

But it would take five years for Smith to make his first start at the position. He played in 36 games in his first three NFL seasons before the 49ers released him at the close of the 2003 preseason. In November of that year, he moved on to Detroit, where he spent the next three years, finally starting five games during the 2005 campaign.

"When I got to the league, I was 225 and was as low as 215 or 220 pounds. Right now, I'm sitting at about 245," Smith said. "I had to put on a lot of weight just to handle the head-banging, and it helped because it helped me handle the wide-open, high-speed collisions on special teams."

And that was how he first drew notice in the NFL.

"When I came into the league in San Francisco, I played behind Charlie Garner, Garrison Hearst and Fred Beasley," Smith recalled. "Those were guys that were never going to come off the field. I learned that if I wanted to stay around in this league that I had to find something else to contribute to the team. Special teams was something at which I excelled. It allowed me to play aggressively and do my thing that way."

And now, he hopes to do that in Denver for the foreseeable future. After playing for three different teams in the past five seasons, Smith prepares for his first Broncos training camp hoping that the Broncos will be the team with which he can stay for the rest of his career.

"I'm definitely hoping for that," he said. "I signed a three-year deal, and my goal coming into this league was to make it to 10 years. The three-year contract will put me right at 10 years."

So far, so good.

"I'm going to get along just fine out here. I feel good about all the coaches and my teammates," Smith said. "It looks like it's going to be a good fit."