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FOXBORO - It's been a long, long time since Kenny Smith was able to feel the sheer exhilaration of being able to rear back and hit someone in the heat of actual competition.

Since the 2003 NFL season, in fact - and for a football player, whose athletic lifespan has distinct limits to it, that's an eternity.

"I've been out for a long time," the former third-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints said earlier in the week at the Patriots' training camp. "I'm too young to give up. Besides, you never know when the phone call's going to come. So the best thing to do is keep yourself in shape so when you do get that phone call, you're all ready to go."

The 6-foot-4, 303-pound defensive end from Meridian, Miss., via the University of Alabama, is trying to beat the odds in this football preseason. He'll turn 31 years old on Sept. 8, and has been out of football for four full seasons - and he's trying to crack the Patriots' lineup in a position group that may already be one of the strongest in the NFL.

But hope always springs eternal, and after an encouraging performance in last week's preseason debut, Smith is beginning to feel as if this comeback business may be worth all of the blood, sweat and tears he's putting into it. "After coming off a game like I had last week, I'm excited to go out there and do better, try to double the numbers that I had," he said.

In his first preseason action, Smith made three tackles (two solo) and was credited with a half sack as well as a quarterback hit. He was one of five Patriots to check in with three tackles, the second-highest individual total on the team behind rookies Terrence Wheatley and Shawn Crable, with four apiece.

"It felt good," Smith said of his efforts to put pressure on Ravens' third-string quarterback Joe Flacco, the rookie from Delaware. "A couple of times I got back there. Last time I got back there, I just had to try to reach out a little bit more to get him. I told myself I had to get back there and get him. I got some great pushes. It turned out for the best for me."

It marked the end of a long, disappointing road for the former all-SEC choice for the Crimson Tide.

After playing in 15 games and starting nine for the Saints in 2003, his third NFL season, he suffered a shoulder injury in the 2004 preseason and sat out the entire season on injured reserve. Then, after signing as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders the next year, he suffered a knee injury in training camp and was again placed on the injured reserve list.

He spent all of 2006 out of football, was signed and released quickly by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early in 2007 and then was signed by the Patriots in June of that year - only to be released again during last year's training camp.

There had been nothing but progress in his career through 2003, before the walls came crashing in. But Smith said he has never given up hope of salvaging a football career out of the disappointment of the last four years.

"You glance back coming off a year like that, but things happen," he said. "You just can't get too down on yourself, and try and come back and put things together. Unfortunately, it's been a little bit bumpy, but with the help of God things have been straightening out, so I'm just trying to put everything back together right now."

It's safe to assume that Smith will see some action against the Buccaneers this Sunday (8 p.m.; NFL Network, Ch. 4) at Raymond James Stadium. The starters are likely to play a healthy portion of the game, but Bill Belichick and his staff need to continue their evaluation of other players and make sure that what Smith showed against Baltimore can be sustained.

"I feel I'm getting better," Smith said. "I feel I'm getting back to the groove of playing the defensive line. I'm not 100 percent there, but I feel like I'm almost there. You've just got to look forward, keep in shape, hit the weight room, and keep injuries away." Smith also knows that he's not just competing to make one team. The Patriots have a full house along the defensive line as it is, but good performances in preseason games will catch the attention of scouts - and possibly open a door elsewhere if there's no room for him in Foxboro.

"I know I've got some ability to play football," Smith said. "I know I can put in the work to play football. I just do my job when I'm out here, and everything else will take care of itself."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.