Roquan Smith

Roquan Smith
refer to caption
Smith in 2018
No. 58 – Chicago Bears
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1997-04-08) April 8, 1997
Marshallville, Georgia
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school: Macon County
(Montezuma, Georgia)
College: Georgia
NFL Draft: 2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2018
Total tackles: 18
Sacks: 1.0
Forced fumbles: 0
Fumble recoveries: 0
Interceptions: 0
Player stats at NFL.com

Roquan Daevon Smith (born April 8, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia. Smith became the first Georgia Bulldog to win the Butkus Award.[1]

Early years

Smith attended Macon County High School in Montezuma, Georgia, where he played football.[2] He originally committed to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play college football but changed his commitment to the University of Georgia.[3][4]

College career

While at the University of Georgia, Smith played college football under head coaches Mark Richt and Kirby Smart. As a true freshman at Georgia in 2015, Smith played in 12 games and recorded 20 tackles.[5] As a sophomore in 2016, he started 10 of 13 games, recording 95 tackles.[6][7]

In 2017, Smith was named MVP of the SEC Championship Game, as well as SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.[8] He also became the first Georgia Bulldog to win the Butkus Award. Smith decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and entered the 2018 NFL Draft.[1]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad
6 ft 0 7⁄8 in
(1.85 m)		 236 lb
(107 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		 4.51 s 1.58 s 2.63 s 33 1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)
All values from NFL Draft[9][10]

Smith was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the eighth overall pick in the first-round of the 2018 NFL Draft.[11]

His contract signing was significantly delayed due to contract disputes between the Bears and Smith's agency CAA Football over language in his rookie contract stating whether his guaranteed money would be reclaimed by the team if he was suspended due to the NFL's new rule outlawing contact leading with the helmet. CAA argued for wording that would protect Smith's guaranteed earnings, while the Bears preferred for decisions to be determined by the league, a situation that was exacerbated by skepticism surrounding the rule and the frequency of tackling in Smith's role.[12] On August 14, the Bears signed Smith to a fully guaranteed four-year, $18.47 million contract that included a signing bonus of $11.51 million.[13] He was the last first-round pick in his draft class to sign with his team.[14][15]

In his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, Smith recorded a sack on the Packers' quarterback DeShone Kizer on his first snap.[16]

Personal life

On May 8, 2018, nearly two weeks after being drafted, it was reported that Smith was robbed in Athens, Georgia, where a team-issued iPad along with some of Smith's personal belongings, including his college jerseys, helmet, and awards were stolen from his car. However, the next day, the stolen items were recovered.[17][18]

References

  1. 1 2 Rittenberg, Adam (January 15, 2018). "Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith to enter NFL draft". ESPN.com.
  2. ↑ Seibel, Ron (February 2, 2015). "Smith about to give Macon County its big moment". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Four-star LB Roquan Smith commits to Georgia without LOI". Sports Illustrated. February 13, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ Carvell, Michael (February 13, 2015). "Roquan Smith: UGA beats UCLA for historic recruit - College recruiting blog". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Active Roquan Smith impressing Georgia coach Kirby Smart". Times Free Press. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  6. ↑ "Roquan Smith garners high expectations, bold comparison ahead of junior season". Macon.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  7. ↑ "Roquan Smith ready to build off Georgia's 2016 finish". Times Free Press. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  8. ↑ "Georgia, Auburn split top awards on AP All-SEC football team". Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  9. ↑ "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Will Hernandez". nfl.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Georgia LB Roquan Smith : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Roquan Smith selected No. 8 overall by Bears". NFL.com. April 26, 2018.
  12. ↑ Campbell, Rich (July 28, 2018). "Roquan Smith's holdout centers on new NFL helmet-contact rule". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Spotrac.com: Roquan Smith contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Roquan Smith ends holdout, signs contract". www.chicagobears.com. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  15. ↑ Knoblauch, Austin (August 13, 2018). "Roquan Smith agrees to $18.4M rookie deal with Bears". NFL.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  16. ↑ Finley, Patrick (September 9, 2018). "Roquan Smith debut: Bears rookie LB posts sack on first NFL snap". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Roquan Smith had Bears-issued iPad stolen from car". NFL. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Roquan Smith recovers most items after robbery". NFL. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.