Chris Smith (born September 8, 1999) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

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Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Early life

Smith was born on September 8, 1999, in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

. He attended Nanih Waiya High School, being named the 2016 "Mr. Football".

College career

2018–2019

Smith committed to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a Public university, public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus Universi ...

, spending his first year as a redshirt and appearing in four games. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Smith appeared in every game of the season and placed fourth on the roster with 334 rushing yards. He ran for four touchdowns on the year.

2020–2021

In 2020, Smith appeared in all 11 games for the school and served as their

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

and third running back. As a returner, Smith made 23 kick returns for 617 yards and two touchdowns, and twice earned conference special teams player of the week honors. He finished the season with 1,137 all-purpose yards, 30th most in the nation. Following the season, he was named a first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and

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. In 2021, Smith earned the starting running back role and led the team with 855 rushing yards on the year. In a 28–27 win over

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

, he ran for a career-high 238 yards and two touchdowns.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Smith signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

on May 12, 2023 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 ...

. He was waived on June 1, 2023.

San Antonio Brahmas

On June 16, 2023, Smith was selected by the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

as part of the XFL Rookie Draft. He was signed on October 24, 2023.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On February 5, 2024, it was announced that Smith signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

(CFL). He played in four regular season games where he had 13 punt returns for 141 yards and four kickoff returns for 247 yards. He finished the season on the practice roster where his contract expired on November 18, 2024.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On February 19, 2025, the

announced that they had signed Smith.

References

External links

Hamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chris 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Mississippi American football running backs Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Seattle Seahawks players San Antonio Brahmas players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players People from Meridian, Mississippi Canadian football running backs Players of Canadian football from Mississippi