Defensive back, Washington State, 2020–⁠23

Chau Smith-Wade

Number: No. 6
Height: 5′11″
Weight: 176 lb
Class (2023): Junior
Hometown: Denver, CO
Born: Sep 17, 2002

Chau Smith-Wade played defensive back at Washington State (2020–⁠23). The Carolina Panthers took Smith-Wade in round 5, No. 157 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Best season: 43; Tackles, 2022 (Washington State, 7–⁠6)
Drafted: No. 157; Round 5, 2024 NFL Draft (Carolina Panthers)

Defense

Tackles, season by season, with his team’s record

1–⁠37–⁠67–⁠65–⁠7

Season	Team	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Int	PD	Hur
2020	Washington State	8	7	1	0	1	0
2021	Washington State	17	10	0.5	1	2	0
2022	Washington State	43	31	2.5	2	8	0
2023	Washington State	28	17	2	0	6	1
Career		96	65	6	3	17	1

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.

On the roster

Season	Team	No.	Pos	Class	Ht	Wt
2020	Washington State	6	DB	Yr 1
2021	Washington State	6	DB	Yr 2
2022	Washington State	6	DB	Yr 3
2023	Washington State	6	DB	Jr. (Yr 4)	5′11″	176

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Game by game

2023 Washington State 6 games, 28 tackles

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	PD
Sep 9	vs.Wisconsin	W 31–⁠22	3	2	0	1
Sep 16	vs.Northern Colorado	W 64–⁠21	2	2	1	1
Sep 23	vs.Oregon State	W 38–⁠35	7	3	1	0
Oct 7	atUCLA	L 17–⁠25	5	5	0	2
Oct 14	vs.Arizona	L 6–⁠44	6	2	0	1
Oct 21	atOregon	L 24–⁠38	5	3	0	1

2022 Washington State 12 games, 43 tackles, 2 INT

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Int	PD
Sep 3	vs.Idaho	W 24–⁠17	4	4	0	1	0
Sep 10	atWisconsin	W 17–⁠14	2	1	0	0	1
Sep 17	vs.Colorado State	W 38–⁠7	5	2	1	0	0
Sep 24	vs.Oregon	L 41–⁠44	5	4	1	0	0
Oct 1	vs.California	W 28–⁠9	5	2	0	0	1
Oct 8	atUSC	L 14–⁠30	4	4	0	0	1
Oct 15	atOregon State	L 10–⁠24	4	3	0	0	0
Oct 27	vs.Utah	L 17–⁠21	2	1	0.5	0	0
Nov 5	atStanford	W 52–⁠14	5	5	0	0	2
Nov 12	vs.Arizona State	W 28–⁠18	2	0	0	1	1
Nov 19	atArizona	W 31–⁠20	2	2	0	0	0
Nov 26	vs.Washington	L 33–⁠51	3	3	0	0	2

2021 Washington State 9 games, 17 tackles, 1 INT

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Int	PD
Sep 4	vs.Utah State	L 23–⁠26	2	2	0	0	0
Sep 11	vs.Portland State	W 44–⁠24	1	1	0	0	1
Sep 18	vs.USC	L 14–⁠45	2	1	0	0	0
Oct 16	vs.Stanford	W 34–⁠31	1	1	0	0	0
Oct 23	vs.BYU	L 19–⁠21	1	0	0	0	0
Oct 30	atArizona State	W 34–⁠21	1	1	0	1	1
Nov 13	atOregon	L 24–⁠38	2	1	0	0	0
Nov 19	vs.Arizona	W 44–⁠18	1	0	0	0	0
Dec 31 ✦	vs.Central Michigan	L 21–⁠24	6	3	0.5	0	0

2020 Washington State 2 games, 8 tackles

Date	Opponent	Result	Tkl	Solo	TFL	Sacks	Int	PD
Nov 7	atOregon State	W 38–⁠28	4	4	1	0	0	0
Nov 14	vs.Oregon	L 29–⁠43	4	3	0	0	0	1

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

Played in the 2024 Senior Bowl (National team, won 16–⁠7).

Drill	Combine 2024
Height	5′9¾″
Weight	184 lb
Arm length	30¼″
Hand size	9⅛″
Wingspan	72⅜″^W
40-yard dash	4.54 s
10-yard split	1.55 s^W
Vertical jump	34½″
Broad jump	10′5″
Bench press	18 reps
3-cone drill	7.05 s
20-yard shuttle	4.32 s

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

3 seasons, 28 games with a stat; latest team: Carolina Panthers.

Season	Team	G	Tkl	Int
2024	Carolina Panthers	9	37	1
2025	Carolina Panthers	16	56	1
2026 (so far)	Carolina Panthers	3	3	0
NFL career		28	96	2

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.