Brett Smith (born June 8, 1992) 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 ...
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 ...
. He played
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 ...
at
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. He attended Leslie Middle School in Salem, Oregon from 2004 to 07 and later graduated from
West Salem High School in 2011.
High school career
During his senior year, Smith completed 65.7% of his passes for 2,146 yards and 27 touchdowns with five interceptions. He rushed for 855 yards on only 115 carries for 22 rushing touchdowns. He was named the First-team All-state for class 6A. In 2010, he was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year. He was ranked number 8 in all of the state of Oregon.
College career
Smith attended the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
from 2011 to 2013. During his career, he started 35 games, throwing for 8,834 yards with 76
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
and 28
interceptions
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
. He also rushed for 1,529 yards with 20 touchdowns.
During his freshman year, he averaged 256.3 yards in total offense per game. He was ranked number 2 in the Mountain West (MW) and ranked 33 in the NCAA. He was ranked fourth in the MW and 61st in the nation on passing yards, with 201.7 passing yards a game. He had a 124.6 passer rating, with that he was ranked 4th in the MW for passing efficiency. He had two receptions for 17 yards and one touchdown. He had 2 tackles for the year. He was first-team All-American freshman.
In his sophomore year, he finished the season with 174 pass attempts and no interceptions; this was the second-best mark in MW history. He finished second in the MW Conference and 16th nationally in total offense yards, with 308.5 yards per game. He placed 21st in passing yards per game, with 284 yards. He averaged 13.8 yards per complete pass. He completed sixty percent of his passes, and threw for 27 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions. He was named Mountain West Conference player of the week three times. He sustained one reception for 10 yards, and only one tackle. During this year he was nominated for the
Manning Award
The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...
.
In his junior year, he was one of the top returning quarterbacks in the nation and was a leading All-American candidate in 2013. He was ranked among the top 25 quarterbacks in the NCAA in multiple categories. Smith entered the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
after his junior season.
Wyoming football records
* Career Offensive Yards: 10,390 (2011–2013)
* Career Touchdowns: 97 (2011–2013)
* Career Passing Touchdowns: 76 (2011–2013)
* Most Total Yards in a Game: 640 (November 23, 2013, against
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football. It was part of the Western Athletic Conference until July 2012, when the team joined the Mountain West Conference. ...
) (Also a
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...
record)
Professional career
Leading up to the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
, the NFL.com scouts gave him a rating of a 5.1. His main strength were considered to be his good sized hands, a vertical jump of 10'8", his speed for being a quarterback, and being a team captain for two years. His weaknesses included; his size (6'1"), throwing off balance, wobbly throws, and he needed to adapt patience to be able to play at the pro level. He was projected to be a seventh round pick. In the actual 2014 NFL Draft, he went undrafted.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Shortly after the draft concluded, Smith was signed by the
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 ...
to compete with
Mike Kafka
Michael John Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chica ...
,
Alex Tanney
Alex Tanney (born November 11, 1987) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Monmouth College and signed ...
and
Mike Glennon
Michael Joseph Glennon (born December 12, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at NC State and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also pl ...
for the backup position behind
Josh McCown
Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorabl ...
. This reunited him with college teammate
Robert Herron
Robert Herron ( ; born June 2, 1992) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wyoming.
Early years
Herron was born in Los An ...
, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. It also reunited him with quarterbacks coach
Marcus Arroyo
Marcus Cole Arroyo (born January 23, 1980) is an American football coach and former plauer. He served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2020 to 2022. Arroyo played college football as quarterback at San ...
who recruited Smith to Wyoming. He was cut on May 21, 2014.
Toronto Argonauts
On July 21, 2014, Smith was signed by the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, where he was the team's fifth-string quarterback.
He was later released on September 6, 2014, along with fellow quarterback
Casey Pachall
Casey Pachall (born November 14, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University.
Early years
Pachall attended Brownwood High School in Brownwood, Texas. He took ov ...
.
San Jose SaberCats
On October 27, 2014, Smith was assigned to the
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
On March 12, 2015, Smith was signed by the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
. Smith began the
2015 CFL season
The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winnipeg ...
as the #3 QB on the depth chart, however, after injuries to starter
Darian Durant
Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentag ...
and backup
Kevin Glenn
Kevin Glenn, Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played co ...
, Smith became the starting quarterback for the Roughriders (at which time their record was 0–5). Brett made his first CFL start against the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
on July 31, 2015. Smith would finish the season having completed 142 of 224 pass attempts (63.4%) for 1,822 yards with 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Smith entered the
2016 season as the number two quarterback on the roster behind Darian Durant. Nevertheless, following a poor preseason campaign he was released by the Riders on June 19, 2016.
Ottawa Redblacks
On July 4, 2016, Smith was signed to a practice roster agreement with the
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Startin ...
(CFL). Smith did not make an appearance with the Redblacks in his lone season with the club, and was let go prior to the Redblacks winning the
104th Grey Cup
The 104th Grey Cup (branded as the 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw for sponsorship reasons) was a Canadian football game that was played on November 27, 2016, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks, that decided the champion for ...
.
Edmonton Eskimos
On January 27, 2017, Smith signed with the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
(CFL). He was released during training camp on June 4, 2017.
References
External links
Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brett
1992 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Salem, Oregon
Players of American football from Oregon
American football quarterbacks
Canadian football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Wyoming Cowboys football players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Toronto Argonauts players
San Jose SaberCats players
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Ottawa Redblacks players
Edmonton Elks players