Blair Smith (born September 25, 1990) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is a

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 i ...

. He attended

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

where 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the

Angelo State Rams The Angelo State Rams, also known as ASU Rams, are the athletic teams that represent Angelo State University, located in San Angelo, Texas, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

. He played for 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 Comm ...

from 2015 to 2020.

Early career

Smith 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, partl ...

for St. Marcellinius Secondary School, and went on to play at

Vanier College Vanier College ( French: ''Collège Vanier'') is an English-language public college located in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1970 as the second English-language public college of Quebec's public colle ...

. In 2011, he transferred to St. Francis Xavier University and played for the St. Francis Xavier X-Men as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He later transferred to New Mexico Military Institute to play for the Broncos, where he completed 48 total tackles, one sack, and one

interception 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 ...

in a season. From 2013 to 2014, he played for the Angelo State Rams. He finished his last season at Angelo State with 101 tackles and 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Professional career

Edmonton Eskimos

Smith was selected in the seventh round of the 2015 CFL Draft by the

with the 60th overall pick. He remained on the active roster following the preseason, and made his CFL debut in the season opener against 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 CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

on June 27, 2015. He played in every game of his rookie season and contributed 20 special teams tackles. He continued to be a major part of the Eskimos special team unit in 2016, while also seeing more snaps on defense. He was re-signed by the Eskimos on February 10, 2017; preventing him from becoming a free agent. He played with the Eskimos through to the 2019 season, but saw a reduced role where he had just five special teams tackles in seven games in 2019. He did not play in 2020 as the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

was cancelled and was released on January 9, 2021.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On January 12, 2021, it was announced that Smith had signed with 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 ...

to a one-year contract. He was released on June 21, 2021.

References

External links

Saskatchewan Roughriders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Blair 1990 births Living people American football linebackers Angelo State Rams football players Canadian football linebackers Edmonton Elks players New Mexico Military Broncos football players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Saskatchewan Roughriders players St. Francis Xavier X-Men football players Sportspeople from Mississauga