Defensive end, Northern Illinois, 2015–18
Sutton Smith
- Number
- No. 15
- Height
- 6′1″
- Weight
- 237 lb
- Class (2018)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Saint Charles, MO
- Born
- Mar 22, 1996, in Plano, Texas
Wikipedia readers: about 419 a month over the past year
Sutton Smith played defensive end at Northern Illinois (2015–18). He was a consensus All‑American in 2017. The Pittsburgh Steelers took Smith in round 6, No. 175 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
10tackles, career highvs. Kent State, 20174sacks, career highat Western Michigan, 2018Honors
- 2017Consensus All‑American
- 2017, 2018Mid-American Defensive Player of the Year
- 2018Mid-American Vern Smith Leadership Award
Team titles: MAC champions, 2018
All-America: consensus 2017; AP 2018; Athlon Sports 2018; College Football News 2018; ESPN 2018; Sports Illustrated 2018; USA Today 2018
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Northern Illinois | 15 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2017 | Northern Illinois | 63 | 43 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 8 |
| 2018 | Northern Illinois | 45 | 32 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 6 |
| Career | 123 | 82 | 52 | 27 | 3 | 17 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Northern Illinois | 15 | DE | RS | ||
| 2016 | Northern Illinois | 15 | DE | Fr. | ||
| 2017 | Northern Illinois | 15 | DE | So. | ||
| 2018 | Northern Illinois | 15 | DE | Jr. | 6′1″ | 237 |
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
2018 Northern Illinois 12 games, 45 tackles, 12 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | at Iowa | L 7–33 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 8 | vs. Utah | L 6–17 | 8 | 6 | 4.5 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 15 | vs. Central Michigan | W 24–16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 22 | at Florida State | L 19–37 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 29 | at Eastern Michigan | W 26–23 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | at Ball State | W 24–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 13 | vs. Ohio | W 24–21 | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 2 | 0 |
| Oct 27 | at BYU | W 7–6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 1 | at Akron | W 36–26 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 7 | vs. Toledo | W 38–15 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nov 14 | vs. Miami (OH) | L 7–13 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 20 | at Western Michigan | L 21–28 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
2017 Northern Illinois 13 games, 63 tackles, 14 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. Boston College | L 20–23 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Eastern Illinois | W 38–10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | at Nebraska | W 21–17 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 30 | at San Diego State | L 28–34 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 7 | vs. Kent State | W 24–3 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | at Buffalo | W 14–13 | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | at Bowling Green | W 48–17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 26 | vs.Eastern Michigan | W 30–27 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Nov 2 | atToledo | L 17–27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 9 | vs.Ball State | W 63–17 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Nov 15 | vs.Western Michigan | W 35–31 | 6 | 5 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Nov 24 | atCentral Michigan | L 24–31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dec 26 ✦ | vs. Duke | L 14–36 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2016 Northern Illinois 10 games, 15 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | at South Florida | L 17–48 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs.San Diego State | L 28–42 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | atBall State | W 31–24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | atWestern Michigan | L 30–45 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | vs.Central Michigan | L 28–34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 22 | vs.Buffalo | W 44–7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 1 | vs.Bowling Green | W 45–20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 9 | vs.Toledo | L 24–31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | atEastern Michigan | W 31–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | atKent State | W 31–21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Played in the 2019 Senior Bowl (North team, won 34–24).
| Drill | Combine 2019 | Combine or pro day 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′0⅜″ | |
| Weight | 233 lb | |
| Arm length | 30¾″ | |
| Hand size | 9″ | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.69 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.72 s | |
| Vertical jump | 31½″ | |
| Broad jump | 9′10″ | |
| Bench press | 25 reps | |
| 3-cone drill | 6.75 s | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.32 s |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
1 season, 1 game with a stat; latest team: Las Vegas Raiders.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Las Vegas Raiders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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