Position: Cornerback Weight: 189 lb (86 kg) | Height 1.83 m | |
Date of birth: (1993-09-07) September 7, 1993 (age 23) High school: Upper Marlboro (MD) Wise NFL Draft: 2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 108 Parents Damon Richardson, Traci Richardson Similar Caleb Benenoch, Noah Spence, Josh Robinson, Alan Cross, Bradley McDougald Profiles | ||
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.
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Early life
Ryan Smith was born in Germany on September 7, 1993 to parents Damon and Traci Richardson and raised in Clinton, Maryland majority of his childhood until eventually moving to Upper Marlboro, Maryland in high school . He attended Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. His younger brother Tre Smith played defense at NCCU with Ryan. 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 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).
Professional career
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Smith in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft at pick 108. On May 5, 2016, Smith signed a four-year, $2.93 million contract with the Buccaneers, with a $592,161 signing bonus. The Buccaneers will be converting him to free safety in the NFL. Following the 2016 season, the Buccaneers announced that Smith would be moved back to cornerback.
Personal life
Smith is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
