Antone Smith (born September 17, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

. Smith was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2009. He has also been a member of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Early life

In his senior year at Pahokee High School, Smith led Pahokee to the state football title and rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns in the championship game, finishing with 2,814 yards and 44 touchdowns on the season. During his four-year high school playing career he compiled over 6000 rushing yards. Smith was ranked as the number 25 player overall by Rivals.com. He was a

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

All-American, the

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and the 24th-most populous in the United States, wi ...

Player of the Year, the

Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand offering male grooming products including aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, shaving cream, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Old Spice was launched as Early Amer ...

National Player of the Year, and was voted as Mr. Football for the state of Florida. Smith was voted the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

Camp and while there recorded an extremely fast 40-yard dash time of 4.25. He played in the CaliFlorida Bowl and was named the offensive MVP. Smith was also on the school's track team, where he competed as a sprinter. At the 2003 FHSAA 2A Region 4 Championships, he won both the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

with career-best times of 10.63 seconds and 21.71 seconds. He also spent a part of the spring with Florida State's track team. He finished fifth in the 60-meter dash at the 2006 ACC Championships, with a personal-best time of 6.83 seconds. Smith was the focus and narrator of "The Muck Bowl," an independently produced feature-length documentary.

College career

During his freshman year at Florida State in 2005, Smith saw action in nine games, playing behind

Lorenzo Booker Lorenzo Adarryll Booker (born June 14, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He play ...

and

Leon Washington Leon Dewitt Washington Sr. (born August 29, 1982) is an American former professional football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) as a running back and return specialist and made 2 Pro Bowls and 2 All-Pro teams during his c ...

. He carried the ball 36 times for 188 yards (5.2 avg) and three touchdowns, and was third on team behind Booker and Washington in carries, rushing yards, and yards per game. In Florida State's 55–24 blowout win over

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, Smith ran seven times for a season-high 76 yards and two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, the second of which came on a season-long 45-yard run where he eluded multiple Duke defenders. As a senior, Smith led the ACC in touchdowns with 15, with 792 rushing yards on 177 carries (for a 4.5 yd average). Smith ended his career with 2,253 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Detroit Lions

After going undrafted in the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

, Smith attended a

minicamp on a tryout basis in early May. He was signed by the Lions as an

on May 8, 2009, and released on July 27.

Minnesota Vikings

Smith was signed by the

on August 5, 2009, after the team waived

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 ...

Aundrae Allison and was released by the team on September 1.

Houston Texans

Smith was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 24.

Atlanta Falcons

Smith was signed to the

on October 21, 2009, after the team waived

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

D. J. Shockley. After his contract expired following the season, the Falcons re-signed Smith to a future contract on January 4, 2010. Smith was known mostly as a special teams player while in Atlanta, but did well with limited carries. In Week 12 of 2013, Smith rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also impressed during Week 13 when he rushed for over 50 yards and a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. During the first week of the 2014 season against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, Smith had 3 touches for a total of 61 yards, one of which was a 54-yard touchdown reception from QB Matt Ryan. In Week 11 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Smith broke his leg covering a punt, which would sideline him for the rest of the year. On March 10, 2015, Smith re-signed with the Falcons. On September 5, 2015, Smith was released by the Falcons with an injury settlement.

Chicago Bears

On October 12, 2015, Smith signed with the

. On December 23, 2015, Smith was waived by the Bears.

New York Jets

Smith was signed by the

on August 16, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jets.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On October 17, 2016, Smith was signed by the Buccaneers. He was placed on injured reserve on November 7, 2016, with a knee injury.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Antone 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Pahokee, Florida American football running backs Florida State Seminoles football players Detroit Lions players Minnesota Vikings players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Pahokee High School alumni