JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jimmy Smith's heartwarming comeback story took a shocking turn yesterday when tests showed the Jacksonville Jaguars receiver had cocaine in his system.

Smith, who will not be prosecuted, vehemently denied having taken the drug.

The positive tests were taken Nov. 11, after police arrested the four-time Pro Bowl receiver on suspicion of drunken driving.

Smith was released after his arrest without being charged. He will not be prosecuted because his blood-alcohol level was under the state legal limit of .08, and because he was not in possession of cocaine at the time of the arrest.

NFL spokesman Dan Masonson said the league is reviewing the case to determine whether Smith will be suspended for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy. The NFL also has a personal-conduct policy, but in the past, most suspensions that fall under that umbrella have resulted from successful prosecutions or guilty pleas.

Smith vehemently denied having taken cocaine and said he was trying to figure out how the test could have come back positive.

"I've never done it, don't do it and don't plan to do it," Smith said. "I just hate for my name to be associated with anything like that, ever. Since I've been here, I've been a good role model, and I will continue to be a good role model. It's devastating to me and my family, but life goes on."

A toxicologist at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where the tests were done, said all drug tests are screened twice, and mistakes are "very rare."

In Jacksonville, Smith is widely considered one of the good guys -- arguably the team's best and most popular player.

Smith, who nearly died during an emergency appendectomy in 1993, was picked up off the free-agent scrap heap when the Jaguars were putting together their expansion roster. He got the tryout after his mother put together a binder of his press clippings and urged Smith to give it to Jaguars coaches.

He made the team and quickly emerged as one of the league's best receivers.

Another incredible chapter was added to the tale this season when Smith overcame three difficult abdominal operations in the offseason. He has returned to prime form, making 70 catches, good for third in the AFC, on a struggling team.

Last summer, Smith lost 30 pounds as he languished in the hospital for 35 days. During that time, his wife, Sandra, gave birth to twins. Coach Tom Coughlin visited often and Smith told of being escorted through the halls by the hard-nosed coach -- who showed his star player a tender side hardly anybody else sees.

Not surprisingly, Coughlin wasn't willing to accept the results of the test either.

"I asked him directly, did he use cocaine," Coughlin said. "He looked me right in the eye and said, `I did not use cocaine or any form of drug.' I have extensive background with this young man. I believe he's telling me the truth."

Smith's fellow receiver, Keenan McCardell, seconded that, as did quarterback Mark Brunell.

"Jimmy told me he didn't take that, and I believe him," Brunell said. "If he says he did not do it, he did not do it. He's a man of his word. He's a man of character. He's a family man. It would be foolish to think why Jimmy would go that route."

Smith passed two breath tests after he was stopped Nov. 11 following Jacksonville's 30-13 home victory over Cincinnati, but police took a urine sample, which was sent to the FDLE toxicology department for analysis.

Smith tested positive for cocaine, Assistant State Attorney John Guy said.

Guy said his office would not prosecute Smith for drunken driving because his blood-alcohol level on consecutive tests was .053 and .047, both below the legal limit.

Smith also will not be prosecuted on drug charges, because he wasn't in possession of cocaine, Guy said. Nor could the state prosecute Smith for driving under the influence of drugs.

"We can't show a connection between the time he ingested the drugs and the time he drove," Guy said.

He said Smith's test showed traces of cocaine and the metabolized form of cocaine, meaning it could have been taken anywhere between one hour and two days before Smith took the wheel. Smith had taken asthma medication earlier that day, but a toxicologist at the FDLE said that shouldn't make a difference in a cocaine test.

The news of Smith's drug test came on the same day Jaguars receiver R. Jay Soward came back to the team after a 10-week suspension for two violations of the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

Smith was considered one of Soward's mentors.

Asked if he would be reluctant to send Soward to Smith for advice in the future, Coughlin replied, "Not at all, not at all."