Derron Smith (born February 4, 1992) is a former

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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. He played college football at

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

Early years

Smith attended Banning High School in Banning, California, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball and track. He played as a safety,

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 ...

and punter for the Banning Broncos football team. As a senior, he had 109 tackles and six interceptions on defense, while also rushing for 1,579 yards with 13

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

on offense. He was a standout on his

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team, averaging more than 17 points per game. Also an outstanding

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete, Smith was one of the state's top long jumpers. At the 2010 CIF-SS Division 3 Meet, he posted the top-qualifying mark in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

at 7.13 meters (23 ft, 2 in), but he had his result stripped by the head official. Smith’s marks would have likely won the meet since the winner of the event posted marks lower than both of Smith’s efforts. Smith was regarded as a three-star recruit by both ''

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'' 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 was ranked as the No. 83 overall player and the No. 35 in his position in the state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He chose Fresno State over scholarship offers from Nebraska, San Diego State, and UNLV, among others.

College career

As a true freshman at

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

in 2010, Smith played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and as a backup safety. He finished the year with 28 tackles. As a sophomore in 2011, Smith played in only three games due to a broken arm and received a medical hardship waiver from the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. He finished the season with 16 tackles and an interception. As a redshirt sophomore in 2012, Smith was a first-team All- Mountain West selection after recording 79 tackles and six interceptions. As a junior in 2013, he was again a first-team All-Mountain West selection after recording 87 tackles, eight interceptions and four sacks. Smith returned his senior season in 2014. He entered the season as the active FBS leader in interceptions with 14.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Smith was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. On November 4, 2017, Smith was released by the Bengals and was re-signed to the practice squad.

Cleveland Browns

On November 9, 2017, Smith was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

off the Bengals practice squad. He was waived on August 31, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders (AAF)

In December 2018, Smith signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

of the Alliance of American Football.

Minnesota Vikings

On April 5, 2019, 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 expansi ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Dallas Renegades (XFL)

In October 2019, Smith was selected by the

Dallas 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 Dwayn ...

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 ...

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

References

External links

Fresno State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Derron 1992 births Living people African-American players of American football American football safeties Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Renegades players Fresno State Bulldogs football players Minnesota Vikings players People from Banning, California Players of American football from California San Antonio Commanders players Sportspeople from Riverside County, California 21st-century African-American sportspeople