Romarius "Ito" Smith (born September 11, 1995) 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 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 ...

who is a free agent. Smith was drafted by the

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 ...

in the fourth round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

, and played three seasons for the Falcons in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

. 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 ...

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

Early years

Smith attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

McGill–Toolen Catholic High School McGill–Toolen Catholic High School, founded as the McGill Institute and sometimes called "McT" for short, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama ...

. As a result of his high school career playing for the Yellow Jackets, he was named as a three-star prospect by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

and a two-star prospect according to

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

. He committed to

to play football over offers from

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

, and

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

, among others.

College career

As a sophomore in 2015, he rushed for 1,128 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 49 passes for 515 yards. His average of 134 yards of total offense per game in 2015 ranked 18th among Division I FBS players. In July 2016, Smith was named to the watch list for the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

. In September 2016, he set a school record with an 86-yard touchdown run against

Savannah State ) , established = , closed = , type = Public historically black university , parent = University System of Georgia , academic_affiliation = Space-grant , endowment ...

. During his college career, he rushed for 4,538 yards and 42 rushing touchdowns.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

2018 season: Rookie year

Smith was drafted by the

in the fourth round (126th overall) of the

. He was named the third running back on the depth chart behind

Devonta Freeman Devonta Cornellius Freeman ( ; born March 15, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. High ...

and

Tevin Coleman Tevin Ford Coleman (born April 16, 1993) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college fo ...

to start the season. Smith made his NFL debut in the Falcons' Week 2 victory over 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 ...

. He had nine carries for 46 rushing yards and an eight-yard reception in the 31–24 victory. In Week 4, against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, Smith scored his first NFL touchdown, a 7-yard rush in the first quarter. In Week 5, a 41–17 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, he scored his second rushing touchdown of the season. In Week 6, against 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 ...

, he recorded his third rushing touchdown, and become the first rookie in franchise history to score rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games. In Week 8 against 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 ...

, he scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season as part of a 60-yard performance in the victory. On December 17, 2018, Smith was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He finished the season with 315 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns along with 27 receptions for 152 receiving yards.

2019 season

Smith entered the 2019 season as the No. 2 running back behind

after

left in free agency. He played in seven games before suffering a concussion in Week 7. He was placed on injured reserve on November 9, 2019. Smith finished the 2019 season with 22 carries for 106 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 11 receptions for 87 receiving yards.

2020 season

Smith entered the 2020 season as the No. 3 running back behind newly acquired running back

Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Georgia, where he recei ...

and Brian Hill. Smith became the starting running back for the final few weeks of the season after Gurley became less effective and interim head coach Raheem Morris wanting to give Smith a good look. He finished the 2020 season with 63 carries for 268 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 17 receptions for 75 receiving yards in 14 games. Smith was waived on April 15, 2021, after three seasons with the team.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 7, 2021, Smith signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He was waived on August 16, 2021.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 23, 2021, Smith signed with 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 ...

, but was waived five days later.

Dallas Cowboys

On December 8, 2021, Smith was signed to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

practice squad. The signing reunited him with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who was his head coach with the Falcons. In Week 18 with the starters resting for the playoffs, Dallas elevated him for the season finale against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, where he scored his first and only touchdown of the year on a four-yard rush. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 18, 2022. He was released on March 11, 2022.

Personal life

Smith has earned the nickname "The Judge" after

Lance Ito Lance Allan Ito (born August 2, 1950) is a retired American judge best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case, held in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1995. Early life and career Ito was born ...

References

External links

Southern Miss Golden Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ito 1995 births Living people American football running backs Arizona Cardinals players Atlanta Falcons players Dallas Cowboys players Minnesota Vikings players People from Semmes, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama