Ryan Smith (cornerback, born 1993)

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 North Carolina Central Eagles.

Ryan Smith
Smith with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
No. 29 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1993-09-07) September 7, 1993
Augsburg, Germany
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school:Wise (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
College:North Carolina Central
NFL Draft:2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 108
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:117
Pass deflections:12
Interceptions:1
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Ryan Smith was born in Germany on September 7, 1993 to parents Damon and Traci Richardson, and raised in Clinton, Maryland, where he spent the majority of his childhood. He moved to Upper Marlboro, Maryland in high school, where he attended Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School. His younger brother Tre Smith played defense at NCCU with him. In high school, Smith was a dual athlete playing football and basketball. He made up in his mind that football was the more logical sport to pursue 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 hadn't come true, 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 touchdown).[1]

Professional career
External video
Ryan Smith’s NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m)		 189 lb
(86 kg)		 30 1⁄2 in
(0.77 m)		 8 7⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		4.47 s1.59 s2.64 s4.09 s6.88 s36 in
(0.91 m)		10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		18 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2]

2016

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Smith in the fourth round (108th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Smith was the 18th cornerback drafted in 2016.[3]

External video
Buccaneers draft Ryan Smith 106th overall

On May 5, 2016, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Smith to a four-year, $2.93 million contract with a signing bonus of $592,161.[4]

The Buccaneers immediately converted Smith to safety.[5] Throughout training camp, Smith competed for a job as a backup safety against Isaiah Johnson, Kimario McFadden, and Elijah Shumate.[6] Head coach Dirk Koetter named Smith the backup free safety, behind Bradley McDougald, to begin the regular season.[7] On September 25, 2016, Smith made his professional regular season debut as the Buccaneers lost 37–32 against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. In Week 9, he recorded his only tackle of the season during a 43–28 loss against the Atlanta Falcons. He finished his rookie season in 2016 with one tackle in 14 games and zero starts.[8]

2017

Following the 2016 season, the Buccaneers announced that Smith would be moved back to cornerback.[9] During training camp, Smith competed to be the third cornerback on the depth chart against Javien Elliott, Jude Adjei-Barimah, Robert McClain, and Josh Robinson.[10] Head coach Dirk Koetter named Smith the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves.[11]

On September 24, 2017, Smith earned his first career start in place of Brent Grimes who was sidelined due to a shoulder injury.[12] Smith finished the Buccaneers’ 34–17 loss at the Minnesota Vikings with three solo tackles and one pass deflection. Smith started another two games in place of Grimes (Weeks 8–9) after Grimes re-injured his shoulder. In Week 9, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles during a 30–10 loss at the New Orleans Saints. In Week 10, Grimes became a starting cornerback for the remainder of the season after Vernon Hargrove suffered a hamstring injury and was subsequently placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2017.[13] On November 26, 2017, Smith made a season-high eight solo tackles during a 34–20 loss at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 12.[14] Smith was inactive for the Buccaneers’ Week 16 loss at the Carolina Panthers due to an ankle injury, but returned for the last game of the season the following week.[15] He finished the 2017 NFL season with 62 combined tackles (51 solo), five pass deflections, and two forced fumbles in 15 games and ten starts.[8]

2018

Smith attempted to retain his role as a starting cornerback during training camp, but saw heavy competition from Vernon Hargreaves and the Buccaneers’ second round picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, M. J. Stewart and Carlton Davis.[16] Head coach Dirk Koetter named Smith the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Brent Grimes, Vernon Hargreaves, and Carlton Davis.[17]

In Week 2, Smith collected a season-high nine combined tackles and made two pass deflections during a 27–21 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. On November 25, 2018, Smith broke up a pass attempt and made his first career interception as the Buccaneers defeated the San Francisco 49ers 27–9 in Week 12. Smith intercepted a pass by quarterback Nick Mullens, that was initially intended for wide receiver Dante Pettis, during the fourth quarter.[18] Smith finished the season with 38 combined tackles (31 solo), five pass deflections, and one interception in 16 games and six starts.[8]

2019

On July 10, 2019 it was announced Smith had been suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the NFL performance-enhancing substances policy.[19] He was reinstated from suspension on September 30, and activated prior to Week 5.

2020

On March 30, 2020, Smith was re-signed by the Buccaneers.[20][21]

Personal life

Smith is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Reference list
  1. "North Carolina Central University". nccueaglepride.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  2. "NFL Draft Profile: Ryan Smith". NFL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  3. "Bucs draft CB Ryan Smith in fourth round". TBO.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  4. "Smith, Benenoch Quickly Land Deals". www.buccaneers.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  5. "Meet new Bucs Ryan Smith, Caleb Benenoch". www.tbo.com. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  6. "Pre-Camp Roster Breakdown: Defense/ST". Buccaneers.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  7. "Buccaneers'2016 depth chart: Vernon Hargreaves shares starting job". bucsnation.com. September 6, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  8. "NFL Player stats: Ryan Smith (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  9. "Rookie Standouts Add to Young Core". www.buccaneers.com. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  10. Laine, Jenna (June 6, 2017). "Bucs CB Ryan Smith happy to be back playing 'natural position'". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  11. "Ourlads.com: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  12. Laine, Jenna (December 11, 2017). "Bucs' Brent Grimes waiting until after season to make a decision about future". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  13. "Bucs' Hargreaves to rest, move on from 'struggle' of 2017". TampaBay.com. December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  14. "NFL Player stats: Ryan Smith (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  15. "Ryan Smith injury could leave Bucs even thinner at corner". TampaBay.com. December 22, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  16. Smith, Scott (June 19, 2018). "2018 Bucs Roster Reset: Defensive Backs". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  17. "Ourlads.com: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  18. "San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - November 25th, 2018". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  19. Gordon, Grant (July 10, 2019). "Buccaneers CB Ryan Smith suspended 4 games". NFL.com.
  20. Smith, Scott (March 28, 2020). "Ryan Smith Re-Signs with Bucs". Buccaneers.com.
  21. "Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl XV". NFL. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
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