Jamarius "J'Mar" Smith (born September 24, 1996) 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 ...
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 ...
for the
Birmingham Stallions
The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their h ...
of the
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL). 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
Louisiana Tech University
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 activ ...
.
Early years
A multi-sport athlete, Smith was a three-star recruit out of
Meridian High School in
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...
. At Meridian, he was teammates with
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 pla ...
defensive tackle
Raekwon Davis
Raekwon Davis (born June 10, 1997) is an American football nose tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama.
College career
Davis started as a true freshman in 2016, and saw time in ...
and
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
cornerback
Travis Reed
Travis Reed (born August 6, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player. Reed played college basketball for UCLA and Long Beach State. He played professionally in the Netherlands, Estonia, Romania, Australia and Germany.
Profess ...
. He accepted a full-scholarship from Louisiana Tech over offers from
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
and
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. He was recruited to Louisiana Tech by former NFL quarterback
Tim Rattay.
Smith played as a
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
for the Meridian baseball team. He was drafted by the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) in the 24th round of the
2015 MLB Draft
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
, but he declined to sign a professional contract with the team.
[
]
College career
As a redshirt senior, Smith started 11 games and was 236-of-367 passing for 2,977 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season. During his redshirt senior season, Smith was suspended for two games for violating athletic department policy. Smith led his team to a 14–0 win over Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
in the 2019 Walk On's Independence Bowl and was named Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
's 2019 Football Offensive Player of the Year.
College statistics
Professional career
New England Patriots
On May 5, 2020, Smith 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 ...
with the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. On July 26, 2020, he was waived before the start of training camp.
Smith had a tryout with the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
on August 23, 2020.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
He signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
of the CFL on May 17, 2021. He was assigned to the practice roster as the 4th string quarterback. He was released on August 21, 2021.
Birmingham Stallions
Smith was selected in the 12th round of the 2022 USFL Draft
The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...
by the Birmingham Stallions
The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their h ...
, reuniting with his college head coach Skip Holtz
Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. (born March 12, 1964) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL). Previously, he was the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (201 ...
. After leading the Stallions to a victory over the New Jersey Generals in the USFL Kickoff game, Smith was voted USFL Week 1 offensive player of the week. On July 3, Smith won the USFL championship game.
Career Statistics
Personal
J'Mar Smith is the son of former NFL defensive lineman Kenny Smith
Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...
, who played with 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 ...
and Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
.[ During his first season with the ]Birmingham Stallions
The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their h ...
, Smith was awarded Birmingham Stallions Best Hair Award by his teammates as a joke.
References
External links
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, J'Mar
1996 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Meridian, Mississippi
Players of American football from Mississippi
American football quarterbacks
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players
New England Patriots players
Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
Birmingham Stallions (2022) players