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Brad Smith (American football)
Encyclopedia
Bradley "Brad" Alexander Smith (born December 12, 1983) is an American football
quarterback
, running back
, wide receiver
and return specialist
for the Buffalo Bills
of the National Football League
. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft
by the New York Jets
. He played college football
at Missouri
.
. He was a two-time all-state selection for football and twice was selected as the All-City Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for over 2,700 yards in his career and 34 TDs
. He also rushed for over 1,200 yards and 19 TDs. Brad also played basketball
and was an all-city selection. He was given the nickname "Ninja Fists" for his quick release of the ball.
. His redshirt freshman year he established himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in college
football becoming only the second player in Division 1-A football history to ever pass
for 2,020 yards and rush
for 1,000. He received numerous national and Big 12 Conference
freshman honors, leading the Tigers to a 5-7 record. His sophomore year he led Mizzou to an 8-5 record and their first bowl game since 1998. In 2004 the Tigers went a disappointing 5-6 after beginning the season ranked number 17 by the Associated Press
. His senior year he led the Tigers to a 7-5 record and his second Independence Bowl
in three years and the first Mizzou bowl victory in 7 years.
Smith was working on his graduate degree in Economics at Mizzou upon being drafted. He received his business degree from Mizzou in May 2005.
Smith has set numerous Missouri, Big 12, and Division 1-A records. In his junior season, he was considered a preseason Heisman candidate by many, but Missouri and Smith did not live up to expectations, achieving only a 5-6 record.
Smith excelled in the classroom, and has been named to the Big 12 All-Academic Team. He participated in the Mike Jones Football Clinic, Chancellor's Lunch, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Food Drive, Truman Club and Athletes-in-Action, among others.
. The New York Jets
drafted Smith as a Wide Receiver/Running Back/Quarterback in the fourth round. He was signed by the New York Jets
on July 21, 2006 as a Wide Receiver/Quarterback. In a preseason game in 2007, he was played at quarterback and rallied the Jets to 10 points and scrambled for the game-winning touchdown. He was then declared a "bona fide quarterback" by Jets coach Eric Mangini
and is listed higher on the depth chart at quarterback than wide receiver. Through Week 5 of the 2007 season, the Jets used Smith in a variety of ways, lining him up at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. He was also a standout on special teams. Smith scored his first career receiving touchdown on October 7, 2007 against the New York Giants
.
On December 16, 2007, Smith substituted for starter Kellen Clemens
who was injured in a game against the New England Patriots
. Smith would then alternate with former starter Chad Pennington
for the rest of the game, running an option and also attempting a pass. He is also a winner of the Jets' 2007 Kyle Clifton
Good Guy Award, which recognizes consistent willingness, cooperation and professionalism in everyday dealings with various departments in organization.
Smith has been used recently in the Jets "Wildcat" or "Seminole" formations. Smith was injured (quad) throughout the beginning of the 2009 season, but has since become a leader of special teams, including being the starting kick returner. On December 13, 2009, Smith ran a fake punt play, in which he completed a pass to Eric Smith
, having the longest completion of any team that day, the play went for 27 yards. On December 27, 2009, Smith returned the opening kickoff of the 2nd half for a 106-yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. This is the longest play in New York Jets history, and tied for the second longest kickoff return in NFL history. In the last game of the 2009 regular season, Smith had 91 rushing yards, lining up at quarterback each time, having a 57-yard play, and scoring a 32-yard touchdown.
Aside from being a versatile offensive threat, and an explosive return man, Smith has also excelled on the Jets special teams coverage unit recording 60 special teams tackles in 76 career games as of the end of the 2010 NFL season.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and return specialist
Return specialist
A Return Specialist is a player on American football or Canadian football special teams who specializes in returning punts and kickoff returns. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most play other positions as well. The special teams counterpart of a return specialist is a...
for the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
by the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
.
High school
Smith is the son of Phillip and Sherri Smith. He attended Chaney High School in Youngstown, OhioYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. He was a two-time all-state selection for football and twice was selected as the All-City Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for over 2,700 yards in his career and 34 TDs
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
. He also rushed for over 1,200 yards and 19 TDs. Brad also played basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and was an all-city selection. He was given the nickname "Ninja Fists" for his quick release of the ball.
College
After being redshirted in 2001 he became the four-year starter (never missing a start) for the Missouri TigersMissouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of the University of Missouri, located in Columbia, Missouri, United States...
. His redshirt freshman year he established himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
football becoming only the second player in Division 1-A football history to ever pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
for 2,020 yards and rush
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
for 1,000. He received numerous national and Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
freshman honors, leading the Tigers to a 5-7 record. His sophomore year he led Mizzou to an 8-5 record and their first bowl game since 1998. In 2004 the Tigers went a disappointing 5-6 after beginning the season ranked number 17 by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. His senior year he led the Tigers to a 7-5 record and his second Independence Bowl
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, so named because it was inaugurated in the United States bicentennial year, 1976....
in three years and the first Mizzou bowl victory in 7 years.
Smith was working on his graduate degree in Economics at Mizzou upon being drafted. He received his business degree from Mizzou in May 2005.
Smith has set numerous Missouri, Big 12, and Division 1-A records. In his junior season, he was considered a preseason Heisman candidate by many, but Missouri and Smith did not live up to expectations, achieving only a 5-6 record.
Smith excelled in the classroom, and has been named to the Big 12 All-Academic Team. He participated in the Mike Jones Football Clinic, Chancellor's Lunch, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Food Drive, Truman Club and Athletes-in-Action, among others.
Accomplishments and honors
- First player in division 1-A history to pass for 8,000 yards and run for 4,000 yards in career
- First player in division 1-A history to pass for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in a season twice in a career
- Second player in division 1-A history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 2,000 yards in a season
- Fourth player in division 1-A history to score 200 points and pass for 200 points in a career
- Sixth player in division 1-A history to pass for 200 yards and rush for 200 yards in a single game (vs. Nebraska on October 22, 2005)
- Most rushing yards in division 1-A history by a freshman quarterback
- Holds school record for:
- career rushing yards
- career total yards
- most points in a game (30) and most touchdowns (5) (vs. Texas TechTexas Tech Red RaidersThe Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
on October 25, 2003)
- Holds 68 different MU, Big 12 and NCAA game, season and career records (as of 12/2005)
- 2006 Independence BowlIndependence BowlThe Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, so named because it was inaugurated in the United States bicentennial year, 1976....
MVP - 2006 Hula BowlHula BowlThe Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
MVP - 2002 1st-Team Freshman All-American by FWAA, The Sporting NewsThe Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
, College Football News, and Rivals.com - 2002 Honorable Mention All-American by CNNSI.com, College Football News
- 2002 and 2003 honorable mention All-Big 12 by AP
- 2002 and 2004 Honorable Mention All-Big 12 by coaches
- 2003 4th-Team All-American by College Sports Report
- 2003 3rd-Team All-Big 12 by coaches
- 2005 Draddy TrophyDraddy TrophyThe William V. Campbell trophy, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is a trophy awarded by the National Football Foundation that is given to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance...
finalist - 2005 Honorable Mention All-Big 12
- 2005 Davey O'Brien Award Semi-Finalist
- 2010 Pudding Pie Award
New York Jets
Smith was the 103rd overall selection in the 2006 NFL draft2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. The New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
drafted Smith as a Wide Receiver/Running Back/Quarterback in the fourth round. He was signed by the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on July 21, 2006 as a Wide Receiver/Quarterback. In a preseason game in 2007, he was played at quarterback and rallied the Jets to 10 points and scrambled for the game-winning touchdown. He was then declared a "bona fide quarterback" by Jets coach Eric Mangini
Eric Mangini
Eric Mangini is the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets of the National Football League and current NFL analyst for ESPN.-College:...
and is listed higher on the depth chart at quarterback than wide receiver. Through Week 5 of the 2007 season, the Jets used Smith in a variety of ways, lining him up at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. He was also a standout on special teams. Smith scored his first career receiving touchdown on October 7, 2007 against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
On December 16, 2007, Smith substituted for starter Kellen Clemens
Kellen Clemens
Kellen Clemens is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
who was injured in a game against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
. Smith would then alternate with former starter Chad Pennington
Chad Pennington
James Chadwick "Chad" Pennington is an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for ten years. He is currently a football analyst with FOX Sports though he plans to return to playing after recovering from an injury...
for the rest of the game, running an option and also attempting a pass. He is also a winner of the Jets' 2007 Kyle Clifton
Kyle Clifton
Kyle Clifton was a linebacker who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League for the New York Jets. He led the NFL in tackles with 199 in 1988. His career totals are 1,484 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 12 interceptions,and 37 pass deflections.He was number 59....
Good Guy Award, which recognizes consistent willingness, cooperation and professionalism in everyday dealings with various departments in organization.
Smith has been used recently in the Jets "Wildcat" or "Seminole" formations. Smith was injured (quad) throughout the beginning of the 2009 season, but has since become a leader of special teams, including being the starting kick returner. On December 13, 2009, Smith ran a fake punt play, in which he completed a pass to Eric Smith
Eric Smith (American football)
-2006:Smith was selected 97th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Smith had been rising on many draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft as he was praised for his instincts and physicality on the field. The Jets signed Smith to a contract on July 21, 2006....
, having the longest completion of any team that day, the play went for 27 yards. On December 27, 2009, Smith returned the opening kickoff of the 2nd half for a 106-yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. This is the longest play in New York Jets history, and tied for the second longest kickoff return in NFL history. In the last game of the 2009 regular season, Smith had 91 rushing yards, lining up at quarterback each time, having a 57-yard play, and scoring a 32-yard touchdown.
Aside from being a versatile offensive threat, and an explosive return man, Smith has also excelled on the Jets special teams coverage unit recording 60 special teams tackles in 76 career games as of the end of the 2010 NFL season.
Buffalo Bills
Smith agreed to a multi-year deal with the Buffalo Bills on July 28, 2011. The Bills have used him this season mostly out of Wildcat formations, and they have also used him as a wide receiver.Measurables
- 4.46 40 Yard Dash
- 39½ Inch Vertical
- 7.01 Three-Cone Drill
- 4.33 Short Shuttle
- 10-foot-8 Broad Jump
Personal
Smith is married to Rosalynn Monique Smith. In July 2010, the couple welcomed their first child, Bradley Alexander Jr.External links
- New York Jets biography
- Mizzou Tigers biography
- Statistics at ESPN.comESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...