Joseph O'Brien Smith (born August 26, 1979) is an American former professional

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

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). In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, in only his second season with the team, he became the BC Lions' all-time single-season

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

leader, rushing for a record 1,510 yards.

College career

Born in

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the parish seat and largest city of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolitan statistical ...

, Smith's hometown is

Cleveland, Texas Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the Greater Houston metropolitan area and Liberty County, Texas, Liberty County. Its population was 7,471 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History In 1854, a church and ...

. He played collegiately as a

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

for two years following his transfer from the

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

. At Louisiana Tech, he rushed for 2,189 yards and added 450 receiving yards to go along with 25

touchdowns 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 ...

. As a senior, he was selected in the first-team All-

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

team and was named the offensive

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. Smith graduated from Louisiana Tech with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Professional career

NFL career

Following his graduation from Louisiana Tech, Smith began his professional football career in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

as a

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 ...

running back 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 ...

. However, he was cut after spending 15 weeks on 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 ...

. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, following his release from Jacksonville and a one-week stint with the

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 ...

, Smith signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

and was allocated to the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded ...

where he became the team's starting running back.

CFL career (BC Lions & Winnipeg Blue Bombers)

Smith signed as a free agent with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in May,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and replaced

Antonio Warren Antonio Warren (born November 25, 1975, in San Francisco, California) is a former Canadian Football League running back who played with the BC Lions and the Calgary Stampeders. Early years Warren graduated from Wilson High in the Bay Area (to ...

as their

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

running back when Warren was released in July. In 14 games with the Lions during the 2006 season, Smith rushed 166 times for 887 yards and 9 touchdowns with only 2 fumbles and caught 51 passes for 420 yards and one touchdown. Smith rushed for 116 yards on 9 carries in the

2006 Grey Cup The 94th Grey Cup game took place on November 19, 2006, at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba before 44,786 fans. Ticket prices ranged from $141 and $275. The game decided the championship of the 2006 Canadian Football League season. The ...

game, which the Lions won over the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

by a score of 25–14. During the

2007 CFL season The 2007 CFL season was the 54th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 50th season of the Canadian Football League, and many special events were held to commemorate the event. Regular-season play began on June 28 at the Rogers Centre in ...

, Smith broke former Lion great

Cory Philpot Cory Philpot (born May 15, 1970) is a Canadian football coach and a former professional running back who is currently the head coach for the Langley Rams of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). He played for eight seasons in the Canadian ...

's single season rushing record with 1,510 yards, coming in an October 28 game against 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 ...

. Smith finished the 2007 season as the CFL's rushing and rushing touchdowns leader (with 1,510 yards and 18 touchdowns, respectively), was named a CFL All-Star for the first time, and won the Western Division's

Eddie James Memorial Trophy The Eddie James Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the leading rusher in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League. Unlike other CFL trophies, there is no equivalent for the East Division (CFL), East Division. Thi ...

(as the Western Division's leading rusher). On September 1, 2008, Smith was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for RB Charles Roberts. He was released by Winnipeg on June 25, 2009.

Statistics

References

External links

Joe Smith's ''CFL.ca'' bioESPN.com pageNFLPlayers.com page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Joe 1979 births Living people People from Cleveland, Texas Players of American football from Monroe, Louisiana Players of Canadian football from Louisiana American football running backs Canadian football running backs New Mexico Military Broncos football players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players Rhein Fire players BC Lions players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen