Anthony “Fish” Smithson (born March 18, 1994) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

free safety. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. He was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He also played for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

College career

Hartnell

Smithson initially committed to play at

Hartnell College Hartnell College is a public community college in Salinas, California. Established in 1920 as Salinas Junior College, Hartnell is one of 115 schools that constitute the California Community Colleges, one of the three higher education systems i ...

out of high school where he played his freshman year.

Kansas

Following his freshman year at Hartnell, he transferred to the

. In 2015, he led the nation in solo tackles, which led to him being named Second-team All-Big 12. In 2016 he was named First-team All-Big 12.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

After going undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft, Smithson signed with the

as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on September 2, 2017, during roster cutdowns. The following day, he was signed to the Redskins' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 19, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Smithson was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the 2018 season.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 19, 2018, Smithson was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

practice squad. He was released six days later.

Los Angeles Chargers

On January 3, 2019, Smithson was signed to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

practice squad.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On July 25, 2019, Smithson signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, but was waived on August 4.

Baltimore Ravens

On August 27, 2019, Smithson signed with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2019, and was released on March 18, 2020.

Personal life

Smithson's brother, Antoine "Shaky" Smithson, played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in 2011 but was shortly released off of injured reserve with an injury settlement. His nickname "Fish" was given to him by his grandmother as a child due to his fear of fish.

References

External links

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Kansas Jayhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smithson, Fish 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football safeties Hartnell Panthers football players Kansas Jayhawks football players Washington Redskins players Arizona Cardinals players Los Angeles Chargers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Baltimore Ravens players