Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played for, and drafted by, the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 2004 to 2005. 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 ...

for the Michigan State Spartans. He was also the starting quarterback for the Nashville Kats and

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

of the Arena Football League (AFL).

College career

Jeff Smoker attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. While at Michigan State, he set many of the Spartans' passing records and when he finished his collegiate career he was the fifth leading passer-by-yards in Big Ten history. Smoker appeared in two bowl games during his career, winning his first, and only, in the

Silicon Valley Football Classic The Silicon Valley Football Classic (SVFC), sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley Bowl or Silicon Valley Classic, was an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA-certified Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that was ...

44–35 against Fresno State as a sophomore in 2001. He lost his last bowl game against Nebraska with a score of 17–3 as a senior in the

2003 Alamo Bowl The 2003 Alamo Bowl was an American football bowl game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Nebraska Cornhuskers played December 29, 2003 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. In a defensive game, Nebraska scored first, leading 3–0 on ...

. Smoker also played in the "Clockgate" game against the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

on November 3, 2001. In the game Smoker threw the winning touchdown with one second remaining.

Substance abuse

Smoker was suspended for the last five games of the 2002 season by coach Bobby Williams due to a violation of team rules. It was later revealed that Smoker was dealing with

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

issues. His story and comeback was profiled in a front-page story in '' Sports Illustrated''. Williams was fired toward the end of the 2002 season. Incoming coach

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

reinstated Smoker in August 2003.

Michigan State passing records

Held the following Michigan State passing records:
''Records that have been surpassed are marked with an *'' Career records * Passing yards: 8,932* * Touchdown passes: 61* * Pass attempts: 1,150* * Pass completions: 685* * 200-yard passing games: 23 * Interceptions: 39 * Passing yards per game (min 20 games): 217.9 Season records * Passing yards: 3,395 (2003) * Pass attempts: 488 (2003) * Pass completions: 302 (2003) * Passing efficiency rating (min 75 attempts): 166.4 (2001) * Total offense yards per attempt (min 100 attempts): 7.35 (2001) * Passing yards per game (min 5 games): (2003)* * Passing touchdowns: 21 (2001, 2003)* Single game records * Pass attempts: 55 vs Ohio State (2003) * Pass completions: 35 vs Ohio State (2003)

Professional career

Pre-draft

St. Louis Rams

Smoker was drafted in the 6th round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

by the St. Louis Rams, he made the Rams' roster in his rookie year as the team's third-string quarterback. In his second year he was beaten out of that position by

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

7th round draft pick Ryan Fitzpatrick and was cut from the Rams at the end of training camp.

Philadelphia Eagles

Smoker spent a brief time on the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad in 2005.

St. Louis Rams (second stint)

He spent the 2005 season on the club's

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, ...

due to injuries to the Ram's starter Marc Bulger and his back-up, Jamie Martin. Due to the Rams' signing of former Miami Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte in the 2006 offseason, Smoker was cut from the Rams roster at the beginning of the 2006 training camp on July 26, 2006.

Kansas City Chiefs

On August 9, 2006, he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs. Smoker was released on August 28.

Nashville Kats

Smoker was signed by the Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League (AFL) on November 17, 2006. He got his first start with the Kats on March 18, 2007 versus the Utah Blaze in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. He replaced

Clint Stoerner Clinton Jacob Stoerner (born December 29, 1977) is a former American football quarterback, who played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe. He p ...

as the starting quarterback midway through the season and help lead the Kats to a 7-9 record, just barely missed the playoffs. He was released from the team at the end of the 2007 season.

Arizona Rattlers

Smoker was signed by the

, where he made his first starts after starter

Lang Campbell Lang Campbell (born September 25, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League. He was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Willia ...

went down with a sprained ankle. He was their starting quarterback until the league folded in 2009.

AFL Statistics

References

External links

ArenaFan.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoker, Jeff 1981 births Living people American football quarterbacks Michigan State Spartans football players St. Louis Rams players Nashville Kats players Arizona Rattlers players People from Manheim, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania