De'Veon Le'trell Smith (born November 8, 1994) is an

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 wi ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

of the XFL. He played college football at

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and was signed 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 ...

by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

in 2017. He played for the

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The team played its home games at Spectru ...

of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and

Tampa Bay Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team began operatio ...

of the XFL.

Early years

Smith was born in 1994. He attended Howland High School in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The hi ...

. He set the career rushing record for Trumbull County, Ohio, with 6,750 rushing yards at Howland High School. He was a finalist for

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

's "Mr. Football" award.

College career

In March 2012, prior to his senior year in high school, Smith announced that he had committed to play college football for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He also received collegiate offers from

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, Penn State, Purdue, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. As a freshman in 2013, Smith appeared in twelve games and had twenty-six carries for 117 yards. As a sophomore in 2014, Smith led Michigan with 519 rushing yards on 108 carries. In the opening game of the 2014 season, Smith carried the ball eight times for 115 yards. He also scored two touchdowns and had a run of sixty-one yards.

Derrick Green Derrick Leon Green (born January 20, 1971) is an American musician best known as the vocalist of Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. He joined the band in 1997 after the departure of band founder Max Cavalera. Early life Born in Cleveland ...

also rushed for 170 yards in the game, as Smith and Green became the first pair of Michigan running backs to rush for over 100 yards in the same game since 2007. During the 2015 season, Smith was again Michigan's leading rusher with 753 yards and six touchdowns on 180 carries. Through the first eleven games of the 2016 season, Smith led Michigan with 750 rushing yards and ten touchdowns on 144 carries. On November 19, 2016, he rushed for a career-high 158 yards and two touchdowns against

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Smith signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Dolphins' practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 18, 2017. He was waived by the Dolphins two days later and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 29, 2017.

Washington Redskins

Smith signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

on August 20, 2018. On September 1, 2018, he was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the 2018 season.

Orlando Apollos

On August 17, 2018, Smith signed with the

of the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 AAF season. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Tampa Bay Vipers

Smith was drafted in the 3rd round in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social ...

by the

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

TSL Aviators

Smith signed with the Aviators of

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

on October 17, 2020.

BC Lions

Smith signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

of the CFL on December 15, 2020. He was released on March 19, 2021.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Smith was drafted in the 2022 USFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Maulers, but was cut from the team before the season began for a violation of team rules set by head coach

Kirby Wilson Kirby Keyes Wilson (born August 24, 1961) is an American football coach who has previously served as a running backs coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He coached for the New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Wash ...

Arlington Renegades

The

selected Smith in the eighth round of the

2023 XFL Supplemental Draft The 2023 XFL Draft, is the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL, and the second draft in that league's history following the 2020 draft. The draft was held on November 15–17, 2022, wit ...

on January 1, 2023.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, De'Veon 1994 births Living people American football running backs Michigan Wolverines football players Sportspeople from Warren, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Miami Dolphins players Washington Redskins players Orlando Apollos players Tampa Bay Vipers players The Spring League players BC Lions players Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) players Arlington Renegades players