Hightower helped put Smith among football's best actors

Associated Press

After an illustrious career as one of the NFL's most feared defensive ends, Bubba Smith hit the silver screen.

The NFL universe mourns the passing of the legendary Bubba Smith, who had quite a successful career with the Colts, Raiders and Oilers. But for many generations, Smith entertained during his second career as an actor, appearing in Miller Lite commercials and the "Police Academy" series.

Smith was not the first former NFL player to make the leap into acting, and he certainly wasn't the first to play a law enforcement official. In an effort to honor and remember Smith, here is my list of the six greatest.

Considered: Jim Brown. The Hall-of-Fame running back twice played a detective on the William Shatner vehicle "T.J. Hooker". But Brown actually played two different characters, Det. Jim Cody and Det. Frank Barnett.