Jonnu Smith

Jonnu Smith

Smith with the Tennessee Titans in 2018
No. 81 – Tennessee Titans
Position:	Tight end
Personal information
Born:	(1995-08-22) August 22, 1995 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:	Ocala (FL) West Port
College:	FIU
NFL Draft:	2017 / Round: 3 / Pick: 100
Career history
Tennessee Titans (2017–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2018
Receptions: 20 Receiving yards: 178 Receiving touchdowns: 2 Player stats at NFL.com

Jonnu Andre Smith (born August 22, 1995) is an American football tight end for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida International University.

Early life

Smith was raised in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by his parents, Wayne and Karen Smith. He is the youngest of six kids. When he was born, Karen was pressured by nurses to immediately name him due to hospital policies. After praying, she somehow came up with the name Jonnu. Wayne Smith died while working as a tow truck driver in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Smith was 4 at the time when his father went to work and was in the process of towing an abandoned car after Philadelphia mayor John Street began a campaign to rid the streets of all abandoned vehicles. The car accidentally slid off and crushed Wayne Smith, killing him at age 40. Jonnu Smith began playing Pop Warner football at age 5. When he was 15, his mother sent him to live with her sister in Ocala, Florida. She explained that living in a negative environment began affecting him after a couple friends had been killed. In Ocala, he lived with his aunt and uncle, Darla and Mike Kirkland, and their three kids.^[1]

College career

Smith played college football at Florida International University.^[2][3][4] As a freshman in 2013, Smith played 12 games with 388 receiving yards and two touchdowns.^[5] As a sophomore in 2014, he played 12 games with 710 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.^[6] As a junior in 2015, he played in 8 games with 397 receiving yards and four touchdowns.^[7] As a senior in 2016, he played 11 games with 506 receiving yards and four touchdowns.^[8] Smith majored in liberal studies at Florida International.

Professional career

On January 17, 2017, it was announced that Smith had accepted an invitation to play in the 2017 Senior Bowl.^[10] He practiced well during the week prior to the Senior Bowl, but was overshadowed by other tight ends who were considered first and second round picks.^[11] On January 28, 2017, Smith played in the Reese's Senior Bowl for Chicago Bears' head coach John Fox 's North team who lost 16-15 to the South. Smith was one of 19 tight ends who received an invitation to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.^[12] Smith had an impressive performance and finished in the five among tight ends in the majority of the drills. He placed second in the vertical jump and short shuttle, tied for third in the bench press, fourth in the broad jump, and finished sixth in the 40-yard dash in his position group.^[13] On March 29, 2017, Smith opted to participate at FIU's pro day, along with Dieugot Joseph and ten other teammates. He performed the three-cone drill and positional drills for scouts and team representatives from 29 NFL teams and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.^[14] Throughout the pre-draft process, Smith had private workouts and visits with Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota Vikings.^[15] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Smith was projected to be a fourth or fifth round pick by NFL draft experts and analysts. He was ranked the tenth best tight end in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and was ranked the 12th best tight end by NFL analyst Gil Brandt.^[16][17]

The Tennessee Titans selected Smith in the third round (100th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.^[19][20] Smith was the sixth tight end selected in 2017 and was the seventh player selected in FIU's school history. He was the third-highest selection in school history, behind the Indianapolis Colts' wide receiver T. Y. Hilton (92nd overall, 2012) and former Jacksonville Jaguars' safety Johnathan Cyprien. (33rd overall, 2013). He also became teammates with Cyprien who signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent during the offseason.^[21] Throughout the draft process, Smith drew numerous comparisons to the Titans' tight end Delanie Walker.^[22] The Titans selected Smith due to the heavy comparisons and to fill a void in their two tight end sets after Anthony Fasano departed in free agency. Offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie drafted Smith to complement Walker in their two tight end sets they used heavily the previous season.^[23]

Personal life

Smith's best friend, Willie “Quasim” Jefferson, died from a gun shot in October 2016. Smith gave his son Jaiyen the middle name Quasim in honor of Jefferson. Smith competed in weightlifting, finishing second in the county in the 219-pound weight class.^[30]

Legal issues

On October 31, 2016, Smith was involved in an altercation with his girlfriend, Mary Gaspar, who was five months pregnant. The argument took place in their campus dorm room, where Gaspar used a kitchen pot and poured boiling hot water onto Smith. Smith suffered burns, and was ruled out for the rest of his senior year. Gaspar was arrested for aggravated battery, and entered a not guilty plea.^{[31][32][33][34][35]}

References

External links

• FIU Panthers bio
• College stats