Preston Smith (linebacker)

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Preston Smith
refer to caption
Smith with the Washington Redskins in 2015
No. 91 – Green Bay Packers
Position:Outside linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1992-11-17) November 17, 1992 (age 31)
Lithonia, Georgia
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:Stephenson
(Stone Mountain, Georgia)
College:Mississippi State
NFL draft:2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2019
Total tackles:220
Sacks:36.0
Pass deflections:16
Interceptions:5
Forced fumbles:5

Preston Demarquis Smith[1] (born November 17, 1992) is an American football outside linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State University, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Early life

Smith attended Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia.[1] He was rated as a two-star recruit by 247sports.com,[2] and Scout.com,[3] and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com.[4] He chose to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs over offers from Kentucky, Syracuse, and West Virginia, among others.[4]

College career

Smith appeared in 8 games as a true freshman in 2011 season, recording a forced fumble in a 31–3 win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.[1] In 2012, Smith appeared in all 13 games and led the Bulldogs with 4.5 sacks.[1] As a junior in 2013, Smith recorded 2.5 sacks, including 2.0 in a 59–26 loss to LSU.[5]

Smith started the 2014 season with a bang, winning the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week Award in each of the first three weeks.[6] Smith recorded an interception in the Bulldogs' 49–0 rout of Southern Miss,[7] and returned another acrobatic, one-handed interception for a touchdown in the Bulldogs' win over UAB.[8] Smith ended the season with 42 tackles, nine sacks, two interceptions and a touchdown.

At the end of his senior season, Smith was projected as a fourth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by CBS[9] and NFL Draft Scout.[10]

Professional career

External videos
video icon Preston Smith's NFL Combine Workout
video icon Preston Smith's Combine Interview
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 5 in
(1.96 m) 		271 lb
(123 kg) 		34 in
(0.86 m) 		10+5⁄8 in
(0.27 m)		 4.74 s 1.60 s 2.73 s 4.28 s 7.07 s 34 in
(0.86 m)		 10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		 24 reps
All values from NFL Combine[11]

Washington Redskins

Smith playing against the Oakland Raiders in 2017.

The Washington Redskins selected Smith in the second round (38th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.[12] Smith was the seventh defensive end drafted in 2015.[13]

External videos
video icon Redskins draft Preston Smith 38th overall
video icon NFL Draft Profile: Preston Smith

On May 11, 2015, the Washington Redskins signed Smith to a four-year, $5.77 million contract that includes $3.16 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.46 million.[14][15][16]

In the Week 16 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Smith was voted Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week after his career high of three sacks in the game.[17] Smith finished the season with eight sacks, which led all rookies for the 2015 season, as well as posting a safety against Aaron Rodgers in the Wildcard playoff loss against the Green Bay Packers.[18]

In March 2016, Smith was voted as one of the best under-25 players in the NFL.[19] Due to a season-ending injury to Junior Galette in the 2016 preseason, Smith became the starting right outside linebacker at the start of season.[20] In a game against the Minnesota Vikings in November 2016, Smith had two sacks, along with his first career interception, helping the Redskins to a 26–20 win.[21]

Smith had a strong performance in the 2017 win against the Arizona Cardinals recording a sack, his second career interception, and a fumble recovery caused by Anthony Lanier.[22][23] In the last game of the season, Smith recorded his third career interception on New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.[24] At the end of the 2017, he tied his season-high of eight sacks.

In 2018, Smith recovered a fumble caused by Ryan Kerrigan in the end zone helping to seal the Week 7 win against the Dallas Cowboys and recording his first career touchdown.[25] Smith recorded his fourth career interception against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in Week 11.[26]

Green Bay Packers

On March 14, 2019, Smith signed with the Green Bay Packers on a four-year, $52 million contract.[27][28] In Smith's debut as a Packer in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, he made 5 tackles and sacked Mitchell Trubisky 1.5 times in the 10–3 win.[29] In Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, Smith sacked Joe Flacco 3 times and forced a fumble that was recovered by the Packers in the 27–16 win, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.[30][31] In week 6 against the Detroit Lions, Smith sacked Matthew Stafford 1.5 times in the 23–22 win. [32] In week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, Smith recorded 2 sacks on Kyle Allen in the 24–16 win. [33]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Preston Smith bio". HailState.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  2. ^ "Preston Smith". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "Preston Smith". Scout.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Preston Smith". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "No. 10 LSU pulls away to beat Mississippi State". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  6. ^ Bonner, Michael (September 15, 2014). "Preston Smith wins third consecutive SEC weekly award". ClarionLedger.com. The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  7. ^ "Mississippi St beats Southern Miss 49–0". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 30, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  8. ^ "Mississippi State beats UAB 47–34". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 6, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "2015 DE rankings". CBSsports.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  10. ^ "Preston Smith". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  11. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Preston Smith". National Football League. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  12. ^ "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Mink, Nate (May 1, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft: Who is Preston Smith? Washington picks Mississippi State DL in second round". Syracuse.com. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  14. ^ Keim, John (May 15, 2015). "Preston Smith's contract breakdown". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  15. ^ Kring-Schreifels, Jake (May 11, 2015). "Preston Smith Signs His Redskins Contract". Redskins.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  16. ^ "Spotrac.com: Preston Smith contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  17. ^ Walker, Andrew (January 1, 2016). "Preston Smith Voted League's Rookie Of The Week". Redskins.com. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  18. ^ Czarda, Stephen. "Ryan Kerrigan Sees Growth In Preston Smith, Explosiveness In Junior Galette". Redskins.com. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  19. ^ Harrison, Elliot. "Teddy Bridgewater, Le'Veon Bell head All-Under-25 Team". NFL.com. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  20. ^ Gulizia, Anthony (July 25, 2016). "Position breakdown: Preston Smith will be counted on after Junior Galette injury". WashingtonTimes.com. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  21. ^ Jones, Mike. "Preston Smith finally has the breakout game the Redskins have been pleading for". Washington Post. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  22. ^ Martin, Kimberley (December 17, 2017). "'The sky is the limit for him': Anthony Lanier delivers breakout game for Redskins". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  23. ^ Whyno, Stephen (December 18, 2017). "Smith, Lanier Handle Gabbert; Redskins Beat Cardinals 20–15". NBCWashington.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  24. ^ "Giants close dismal season with 18–10 win over Washington". WTOP.com. December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  25. ^ Jones, Mike (October 21, 2018). "What style points? NFC East-leading Redskins win with rugged approach". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  26. ^ Homler, Ryan (November 18, 2018). "Redskins Fall Just Short To Texans In Week 11 Matchup". Redskins.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  27. ^ Patra, Kevin (March 12, 2019). "Packers add trio of high-priced free agent defenders". NFL.com. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  28. ^ "Packers sign four players". Packers.com. March 14, 2019.
  29. ^ "Packers D, Aaron Rodgers beat Bears 10-3 in opener". www.espn.com. Associated Press. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  30. ^ "Packers remain unbeaten with 27-16 win over Broncos". www.espn.com. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  31. ^ Bergman, Jeremy (September 25, 2019). "Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson among Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  32. ^ "Packers get the calls, Crosby hits late FG to beat Lions". www.espn.com. October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  33. ^ "Packers' Jones scores 3 TDs in 24-16 win over Carolina". www.espn.com. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.

External links

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