Antone Smith (born September 17, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played high school football for Pahokee. Smith was considered an All American 5 star running back and was named Mr.Florida. He went on to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. Smith was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He has also been a member of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Early years

In his senior year at

Pahokee High School Pahokee High School (also known as Pahokee Junior Senior High School) is a historic school in Pahokee, Florida. It is currently located at 900 Larrimore Road. On November 15, 1996, The old Pahokee High School building on E. Main St. was added t ...

, Smith led Pahokee to the state football title and rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns in the championship game, finishing with 2,814 yards and 44 touchdowns on the season. During his four-year high school playing career he compiled over 6000 rushing yards. Smith was ranked as the number 25 player overall by Rivals.com. He was a

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

All-American, the

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

Player of the Year, the

Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Old Spice was launched as Early American Old Spice by W ...

National Player of the Year, and was voted as Mr. Football for the state of Florida. Smith was voted the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Camp and while there recorded an extremely fast 40-yard dash time of 4.25. He played in the CaliFlorida Bowl and was named the offensive MVP. Smith was also on the school's track team, where he competed as a sprinter. At the 2003 FHSAA 2A Region 4 Championships, he won both the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and 200-meter dash with career-best times of 10.63 seconds and 21.71 seconds. He also spent a part of the spring with Florida State's track team. He finished fifth in the

60-meter dash 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

at the 2006 ACC Championships, with a personal-best time of 6.83 seconds. Smith was the focus and narrator of "The Muck Bowl," an independently produced feature-length documentary.

College career

During his freshman year at Florida State in 2005, Smith saw action in nine games, playing behind

Lorenzo Booker Lorenzo Adarryll Booker (born June 14, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. Booker has also been a member o ...

and

Leon Washington Leon Dewitt Washington Sr. (born August 29, 1982) is a former American football running back and return specialist. He currently serves as a coach for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Dra ...

. He carried the ball 36 times for 188 yards (5.2 avg) and three touchdowns, and was third on team behind Booker and Washington in carries, rushing yards, and yards per game. In Florida State's 55-24 blowout win over

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, Smith ran seven times for a season-high 76 yards and two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron 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. In Ameri ...

s, the second of which came on a season-long 45-yard run where he eluded multiple Duke defenders. As a senior, Smith led the ACC in touchdowns with 15, with 792 rushing yards on 177 carries (for a 4.5 yd average). Smith ended his career with 2,253 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Detroit Lions

After going undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, Smith attended a

minicamp on a tryout basis in early May. He was signed by the Lions as an

on May 8, 2009 and released on July 27.

Minnesota Vikings

Smith was signed by the

on August 5, 2009 after the team waived wide receiver Aundrae Allison and was released by the team on September 1.

Houston Texans

Smith was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 24.

Atlanta Falcons

Smith was signed to the

on October 21, 2009 after the team waived

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

D. J. Shockley Donald Eugene "D. J." Shockley (born March 23, 1983) is a sports anchor and former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft where he served as a backup quarterback for four a ...

. After his contract expired following the season, the Falcons re-signed Smith to a future contract on January 4, 2010. Smith was known mostly as a special teams player while in Atlanta, but did well with limited carries. In Week 12 of 2013, Smith rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also impressed during Week 13 when he rushed for over 50 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. During the first week of the 2014 season against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Smith had 3 touches for a total of 61 yards, one of which was a 54-yard touchdown reception from QB Matt Ryan. In Week 11 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Smith broke his leg covering a punt, which would sideline him for the rest of the year. On March 10, 2015, Smith re-signed with the Falcons. On September 5, 2015, Smith was released by the Falcons with an injury settlement.

Chicago Bears

On October 12, 2015, Smith signed with the

. On December 23, 2015 Smith was waived by the Bears.

New York Jets

Smith was signed by the

on August 16, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jets.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 17, 2016, Smith was signed by the Buccaneers. He was placed on injured reserve on November 7, 2016 with a knee injury.

References

External links

New York Jets bioAtlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Antone 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Florida People from Pahokee, Florida American football running backs Florida State Seminoles football players Detroit Lions players Minnesota Vikings players Houston Texans players Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Pahokee High School alumni