Ito Smith

Romarius "Ito" Smith (born September 11, 1995) is an American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and was drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Ito Smith
Smith in 2017
No. 25 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1995-09-11) September 11, 1995
Mobile, Alabama
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:McGill–Toolen Catholic
(Mobile, Alabama)
College:Southern Miss
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 4 / Pick: 126
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Rushing yards:689
Rushing average:3.9
Rushing touchdowns:6
Receptions:55
Receiving yards:314
Receiving touchdowns:0
Return yards:59
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Smith attended and played high school football at McGill–Toolen Catholic High School.[1] As a result of his high school career playing for the Yellow Jackets, he was named as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and a two-star prospect according to Rivals.com and Scout.com.[2]

College career

As a sophomore in 2015, he rushed for 1,128 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 49 passes for 515 yards.[3] His average of 134 yards of total offense per game in 2015 ranked 18th among Division I FBS players.[4]

In July 2016, Smith was named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award.[5][6] In September 2016, he set a school record with an 86-yard touchdown run against Savannah State.[7]

During his college career, he rushed for 4,538 yards and 42 rushing touchdowns.[8]

Collegiate statistics
Ito Smith Rushing Receiving
Year School Conf Class Pos G Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
2014 Southern Miss CUSA FR RB 11 136 536 3.9 2 8 76 9.5 0
2015 Southern Miss CUSA SO RB 14 171 1,128 6.6 10 49 515 10.5 3
2016 Southern Miss CUSA JR RB 13 265 1,459 5.5 17 43 459 10.7 2
2017 Southern Miss CUSA SR RB 13 248 1,415 5.7 13 40 396 9.9 2
Career Southern Miss 51 820 4,538 5.5 42 140 1,446 10.3 7

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 8 5⁄8 in
(1.74 m)		 200 lb
(91 kg)		 4.45 s 1.57 s 2.58 s 4.56 s 7.22 s 36 1⁄2 in
(0.93 m)		 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Draft[9][10]

2018 season: Rookie year
Smith in 2018

Smith was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (126th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[11] He was named the third running back on the depth chart behind Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to start the season. Smith made his NFL debut in the Falcons' Week 2 victory over the Carolina Panthers. He had nine carries for 46 rushing yards and an eight-yard reception in the 31–24 victory.[12] In Week 4, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Smith scored his first NFL touchdown, a 7-yard rush in the first quarter.[13] In Week 5, a 41–17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he scored his second rushing touchdown of the season.[14] In Week 6, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he recorded his third rushing touchdown, and become the first rookie in franchise history to score rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games.[15] In Week 8 against the Washington Redskins, he scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season as part of a 60-yard performance in the victory.[16] On December 17, 2018, Smith was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.[17] He finished the season with 315 rushing yards and four touchdowns along with 27 receptions for 152 yards.

2019 season

Smith entered the 2019 season as the No. 2 running back behind Devonta Freeman after Tevin Coleman left in free agency. He played in seven games before suffering a concussion in Week 7. He was placed on injured reserve on November 9, 2019.[18] Smith finished the 2019 season with 22 carries for 106 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 11 receptions for 87 receiving yards.[19]

Personal life

Smith has earned the nickname "The Judge" after Lance Ito.[20]

References
  1. "Alabama High School Football History". AHSFHS. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  2. "Ito Smith College Bio". Southern Miss. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  3. "Ito Smith Statistics". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  4. Munz, Jason (July 19, 2016). "Most important Golden Eagles: No. 2 Ito Smith". The Clarion-Ledger. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020.
  5. "Nick Mullens, Ito Smith Named to Maxwell Award Watch List". Southern Miss Football. July 5, 2016. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  6. Marshall, Jonathan (July 6, 2016). "Mullens, Smith named to Maxwell watch list". WDAM-TV. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  7. Hinton, Alan (September 10, 2016). "Ito Smith eclipses Reggie Collier in Southern Miss record book". Sun Herald. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018.
  8. Inabinett, Mark (January 27, 2018). "McGill-Toolen's Ito Smith reaches goal by returning to play in Senior Bowl". AL.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  9. "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Ito Smith". nfl.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  10. "Southern Mississippi RB Ito Smith : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  11. "Falcons Select Ito Smith in Fourth Round". Atlanta Falcons. April 28, 2018. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  12. "Falcons' Ito Smith: Solid outing in regular-season debut". CBS Sports. September 17, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  13. Inabinett, Mark (September 30, 2018). "Watch Ito Smith score his first NFL touchdown for the Atlanta Falcons". AL.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  14. "Ito Smith slips past Bengals defenders for 7-yard TD" (video). Atlanta Falcons. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  15. Urben, Matt (October 14, 2018). "Falcons Highlights: Rookie RB Ito Smith scores TD in third straight game". USA Today Sports. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  16. McClure, Vaughn (November 5, 2018). "Falcons finally get back in the running with Tevin Coleman, Ito Smith". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  17. McFadden, Will (December 17, 2018). "Falcons announce Ito Smith heading to IR". Atlanta Falcons. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  18. McFadden, Will (November 9, 2019). "Falcons place Ito Smith on IR, sign Sean Harlow to active roster". Atlanta Falcons. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020.
  19. "Ito Smith 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  20. Easterling, Luke (July 5, 2018). "Why Falcons rookie Ito Smith was nicknamed after famous judge". USA Today Sports. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
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