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Alton Keith Smith Jr. (born April 8, 1992) is an
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 ...
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
who is a free agent. 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
San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
.


Early life

Born in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
, Smith began playing football in the fourth grade. At the age of 11, Smith met
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
cornerback and Charter Oak graduate
Jason David Jason Aeron Walter David (born June 12, 1982) is a Canadian-born former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. Later, ...
, who was dating Smith's older sister. David commented about Smith: "...he was so eager for knowledge, he was so eager to get better, he was willing to do whatever it took. He studied film, worked out on weekends and got better and better." Smith is now David's brother-in-law. He attended
Charter Oak High School Charter Oak High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in the Charter Oak Unified School District. It is located in the City of Covina, California, in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. The school serves 9th, 10th, 11th an ...
, where he played
high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
, in
Covina Covina (Help:IPA/English, /koviːnə/) is a city in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
. As a junior, he started at linebacker, collecting 110 tackles, 5 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries, while receiving All-CIF Southeast Southern Section honors. As a senior, he tallied 132 tackles (90 solo), receiving 2009
Miramonte League The Miramonte League is a high school athletic league that is part of the CIF Southern Section. Members are located in the eastern San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County. Members * Edgewood High School * Bassett High School * Ganesha High Scho ...
Defensive Player of the Year and All-
California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...
Southeast
Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...
honors. In track, he competed in the
shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...
.


College career

Smith accepted a football scholarship from
San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State Universit ...
, playing for the
San Jose State Spartans football The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San Jose State University, San José State University in NCAA Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. Since its f ...
team from 2010 to 2013 as an
inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...
. In 49 games, Smith made 45 starts and had 476 total tackles, the second most among all-time San Jose State players. In addition, he had 29 tackles for loss and eight forced fumbles. Smith played under head coach
Mike MacIntyre George Michael MacIntyre (born March 14, 1965) is an American football coach who serves as a defensive analyst for Mississippi State. He previously served as the head football coach at FIU. MacIntyre began his coaching career in 1990 as a grad ...
from 2010 to 2012 and
Ron Caragher Ronald Allen Caragher (born January 24, 1967) is an American former college football coach. He was previously the head coach at the University of San Diego and San Jose State. Originally from Morgan Hill, California, Caragher played college fo ...
in 2013. As a freshman in 2010, Smith played in all 13 games and started the last nine. With 116 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, Smith led all freshmen in
NCAA Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
in those categories. Smith earned Academic 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 ...
(WAC),
Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
Freshman
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 ...
, second-team All-WAC, and San Jose State Scholar-Athlete honors this season. However, San Jose State finished the season 1–12. As a sophomore in 2011, San Jose State improved to a 5–7 record. Smith had the most on average tackles per game this year with 6 tackles per game; he had 104 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and two passes defended. For the second year in a row, Smith earned second-team All-WAC honors. As a junior in 2012, Smith had 97 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, and eight passes defended. Smith made his first interception on October 27 against Texas State. On November 17 against BYU, Smith matched a career single-game high with 19 tackles and added two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one sack, and a pass deflection. With 1:16 left in the game against BYU, Smith hurdled over a BYU blocker and sacked BYU quarterback Riley Nelson on Nelson's blind side and also forced a fumble. San Jose State recovered the fumble and sealed the 20–14 victory. For this game-ending play, Smith won WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. San Jose State ended the season 11–2 by beating
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
in the
2012 Military Bowl The 2012 Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman was a post-season American college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It wa ...
29–20. With 4:22 remaining and San Jose State up 22–20, Smith recovered a fumble forced by linebacker Travis Johnson, and San Jose State advanced the ball in two minutes for a touchdown. As a senior in 2013, Smith had 159 tackles and 13.3 tackles per game—both the most among all FBS players this season—along with eight tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception, and one pass defended. Smith reached new career records, with two games with at least 20 tackles, on September 21 against
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
and September 27 against
Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal land-grant institution, Utah State serv ...
. In the San Jose State regular season finale on November 29, a 62–52 win over #16
Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
, Smith intercepted a pass by
Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American former professional football quarterback who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs, receiving first-team All-Mou ...
and ended Carr's streak of 305 passes without an interception. Despite bowl eligibility with a 6–6 record, San Jose State was not selected for a bowl. Smith graduated from San Jose State with a B.A. in communication studies in December 2013.


Professional career


Dallas Cowboys


2014 season

Smith was signed 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 ...
by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
after the
2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
on May 11. Multiple injuries on the linebacker corps forced the team to sign him to the active roster for depth purposes on September 20. Smith made his NFL debut in the Cowboys' 34–31 season-opening win over the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
. He was waived the following day and 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 October 4, he was promoted to the roster and released two days later. On October 18, he was promoted to the active roster and was later released on November 14. He remained on the roster after being added again on November 26, 2014. Smith finished his rookie season with ten game appearances.


2015 season

On May 14, 2015, Smith was released after rookie minicamp to make room for
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 ...
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
Danny McCray Danny DeWayne McCray (born March 10, 1988) is an American former professional football safety and special teamer. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Louisiana State University. ...
. He was re-signed on July 31, a day after
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
Keith Rivers announced his retirement. He made the team because of his
special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
ability and appeared in four games until being released on October 5, to make room for a suspended
Rolando McClain Rolando Marquise McClain (born July 14, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, earning unanimous All-American ...
. On October 7, he was re-signed to the Cowboys' practice squad. On November 14, he was elevated to the active squad for depth purposes while linebacker
Sean Lee Sean Patrick Lee (born July 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was selected by the Cowboys ...
was out with a concussion. Smith played on November 15 against 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 ...
. On November 16, he was waived to make room for linebacker Mark Nzeocha. On November 18, he was re-signed to the practice squad. At the end of the 2015 season, at his exit meeting with head coach
Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...
, Smith was told he was being converted into a fullback based on his work with the scout team, in order to give him a better chance to make the roster.


2016 season

After the team chose not to re-sign
Tyler Clutts Tyler Clutts (born November 9, 1984) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Fresno S ...
, he entered OTAs competing with Rod Smith for the starting position. Although they both made the team, Keith was named the starting fullback at the end of training camp. Smith had his first career carry for a three-yard gain in the Cowboys' season-opening loss to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
. The next game, he made his first career reception on a five-yard pass from quarterback
Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team ...
during a 27–23 victory over 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 ...
. On January 1, 2017, he earned his first career start during a 27–14 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. He contributed to rookie running back
Ezekiel Elliott Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995), nicknamed "Zeke", is an American professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeyes, earning second-team College ...
winning the NFL rushing title, while finishing his first season as a fullback appearing in 16 games with one start. He was a core
special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
player.


2017 season

Smith remained as the team's starting fullback, playing in 16 games, while blocking for Elliott and Alfred Morris. He entered the 2018 offseason as a
restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...
, after the Cowboys gambled by not extending him a tender offer, looking to bring him back at a lower salary. The team ended up losing him and was forced to trade for fullback
Jamize Olawale Jamize Robert Olawale (born April 17, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Texas Mean Green and was signed by the Dallas Cow ...
.


Oakland Raiders

On March 15, 2018, Smith signed a two-year contract with the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
, reuniting with
special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
coach
Rich Bisaccia Richard Bisaccia (born June 3, 1960) is an American football coach who is the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the D ...
, who also had this role with the Cowboys. He appeared in all 16 games with three starts. In 2019, he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the majority of training camp. Due to this injury, rookie fullback
Alec Ingold Alec Ingold (born July 9, 1996) is an American professional football fullback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers. Early life Originally, Ingold committed to Northe ...
became the Raiders' primary fullback in his place.. On August 31, 2019, Smith was released by the Raiders.


Atlanta Falcons

On September 2, 2019, Smith was signed by the
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 ...
, to replace an injured
Ricky Ortiz Richard Young (born May 12, 1975) is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his work with WWE performing under the ring name Ricky Ortiz. Young spent time in the XFL, Canadian Football League (CFL), ...
. He appeared in all 16 games with five starts. On March 14, 2020, Smith signed a three-year contract extension with the Falcons. He was placed on the reserve/
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
list by the Falcons on July 29, 2020. He was activated on August 15, 2020. He appeared in all 16 games with seven starts in the 2020 season. In the 2021 season, he appeared in all 17 games with eight starts. In the 2022 season, he appeared in 17 games and started six. On March 13, 2023, Smith signed a one-year contract extension with the Falcons. Smith was fined $87,418 by the NFL after he knocked Detroit Lions running back
Zonovan Knight Zonovan "Bam" Knight (born April 11, 2001) is an American professional football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack. Early life Knight attended South ...
to the ground with his helmet while blocking. However, the play did not result in an in-game penalty. In a Week 5 win against the
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 ...
, he caught a pass for 28 yards.


Personal life

On May 24, 2023, Smith was arrested in
Buckhead Buckhead is the wikt:uptown, uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
on traffic charges. The situation stemmed from a speeding ticket that Smith had received earlier in the year, which he then paid and believed the situation was resolved. However, a miscommunication occurred and his license was suspended, unknowingly to him. When he was pulled over for an expired registration, he was then arrested for driving with a suspended license.


References


External links


San Jose State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Keith 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Covina, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California American football linebackers San Jose State Spartans football players Dallas Cowboys players Oakland Raiders players Atlanta Falcons players