Terrelle Vernon Smith (born March 12, 1978) is a former American football fullback. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2000 NFL draft. He played college football at Arizona State. Smith has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions. Smith's brother, Safety Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith, is a free agent.

Terrelle Smith
refer to caption
Smith with the Lions in 2009
No. 44, 42, 45
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1978-03-12) March 12, 1978 (age 46)
West Covina, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:246 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:Moreno Valley (CA) Canyon Springs
College:Arizona State
NFL draft:2000 / round: 4 / pick: 96
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:58
Rushing yards:185
Receptions:69
Receiving yards:361
Receiving touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

College career

edit

At Arizona State, Smith served as a blocking back for J.R. Redmond after moving to fullback from the linebacker position. He had twenty-two carries for 129 yards (5.7 yards-per-carry average) with one touchdown, and added eleven receptions for 95 yards.

Professional career

edit
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)
249 lb
(113 kg)
31+18 in
(0.79 m)
10 in
(0.25 m)
5.01 s 1.66 s 2.84 s 4.85 s 8.38 s 32.5 in
(0.83 m)
9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
19 reps
All values from NFL Combine[1][2]

New Orleans Saints

edit

Smith was selected 96th overall in the 2000 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints.[3] He signed a four-year, $1.7 million contract with the Saints. As a rookie, he appeared in fourteen games, including nine starts. He assumed the starting fullback role after being drafted and became one of the top blocking fullbacks in the league. He posted twenty-nine rushes for 131 yards and twelve receptions for 65 yards. He played all sixteen regular season games for the Saints during the 2002 season for the first time in his career, and helped bolster Deuce McAllister's rushing totals in 2003 thanks to his blocking.

Cleveland Browns

edit

Smith was signed by the Cleveland Browns to a three-year $3.2 million contract as an unrestricted free agent on March 11, 2004, and played in all sixteen games of the 2004 season, including nine starts. He blocked for Lee Suggs' career-high 744-yard season. Smith went on to play in all sixteen games of the 2005 season (starting fifteen) and helped Reuben Droughns achieve the Browns' first thousand-yard season since the mid-1980s. On March 14, 2007, the Browns announced the release of Smith.

Arizona Cardinals

edit

On March 23, 2007, he signed a two-year $1.8 million deal with the Cardinals. In 2007, he started 10 of 16 games and recorded the most receiving yards since his rookie season in 2000. In 2008, he was again the starting fullback and his role increased during the Cardinals' Super Bowl run, throwing key blocks during the playoffs. When asked about his role, Smith replied, "I'm a role player and my role is to lead the way and let my back run through the hole. It's not a statistics position . . . but in the end, if you can't block, you can't play the position."[4]

Detroit Lions

edit

Smith was an unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season and signed with the Detroit Lions on April 16, 2009.[5] He was waived on December 17.

NFL career statistics

edit
Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

edit
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2000 NOR 14 9 29 131 4.5 16 0 12 65 5.4 10 0
2001 NOR 14 9 5 8 1.6 6 0 4 30 7.5 12 2
2002 NOR 16 8 5 11 2.2 5 0 9 30 3.3 10 0
2003 NOR 15 10 0 0 0.0 0 0 6 28 4.7 8 0
2004 CLE 16 9 4 9 2.3 4 0 7 39 5.6 16 0
2005 CLE 16 15 6 9 1.5 4 0 12 58 4.8 9 1
2006 CLE 16 8 8 14 1.8 3 0 8 21 2.6 7 0
2007 ARI 16 10 1 3 3.0 3 0 7 59 8.4 16 0
2008 ARI 15 6 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 24 12.0 18 0
2009 DET 8 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 7 3.5 4 0
146 84 58 185 3.2 16 0 69 361 5.2 18 3

Playoffs

edit
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2008 ARI 4 2 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 4 4.0 4 0
4 2 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 4 4.0 4 0

References

edit
  1. ^ "2000 NFL Draft Scout Terrelle Smith College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Terrelle Smith, Combine Results, FB - Arizona State". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  3. ^ "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Sommers, Kent. (October 6, 2008).Five minutes with Terrelle Smith[permanent dead link] AZ Central. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  5. ^ "Lions sign WR Curry, FB Smith". www.seattlepi.com. April 16, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.[dead link]
edit