Ryan Smith (cornerback, born 1993)
| No. 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Personal information | |
| Place of birth: | Germany |
| Height: | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Weight: | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Upper Marlboro (MD) Wise |
| College: | NCCU |
| NFL draft: | 2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 108 |
| Career history | |
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| Roster status: | Active |
Ryan Smith (born September 7, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Buccaneers 108th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football for the NCCU Eagles.
Contents
Early life
Ryan Smith was born in Germany on September 7, 1993 to parents Damon and Traci Richardson. He attended Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School in Upper Marloboro, Maryland, where he grew up. His younger brother Tre played defense at NCCU with Ryan. In high school Smith played basketball and only started playing football in his senior year of high school because he thought he would have a better chance of receiving a scholarship in order to help his family pay for his college tuition. In a press conference shortly after he was drafted, Smith stated that if his plans of playing in the NFL wouldn't have succeeded he would have joined the United States Marshals Service.
College career
Smith attended North Carolina Central University (NCCU) from 2012 to 2015, playing in 45 games and starting 42. He set multiple team records for solo tackles (168) and kickoff return yard average (28.1). On top of that among NCCU career leaders, Smith finished sixth in tackles (263) and tied for 11th in passes defended with 31 (7 interceptions, 24 pass break-ups).
In his freshman season he was redshirted and played in all 11 games, starting 8 of them. Smith ended his freshman season as NCCU’s second-leading tackler with 65 total takedowns, second with three interceptions and third with eight passes defended (three interceptions, five pass break-ups). Smith was selected to the College Sports Journal Football Championship Subdivision Freshman All-America team. Smith started all 12 games in his redshirt sophomore season. He ranked second on the Eagles and 19th in the MEAC with 88 total tackles (51 solo). He was also ranked number one on the team and ranked fourth in the MEAC with 3 fumble recoveries. In his redshirt junior campaign he started all 12 games making the switch from safety to cornerback in his redshirt junior season. Smith tallied 58 total tackles and a team second-best 44 solo tackles. He was voted to the Preseason All-MEAC Third Team. As a redshirt senior, Smith started in 10 of 11 games as a cornerback, only missing the game against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. He ended the year ranking third in the MEAC with a team-best 11 passes defended (two interceptions and nine pass break-ups), and a total of 52 tackles (ranking second on the team with 38 solo tackles). Smith led the conference and ranked 10th in the nation with an average of 28.1 yards per kickoff return (14 for 394 yards, 1 TD).[1]
Professional career
NFL Draft
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in | 189 lb | 4.47 s | 4.09 s | 6.88 s | 36 in | 10 ft 2 in | 18 reps | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Smith in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft at pick 108.[3] On May 5th, 2016, Smith signed a four-year, $2.93 million contract with the Buccaneers, with a $592,161 signing bonus.[4]
Reference list
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- ↑ http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/ryan-smith?id=2555552
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