FIU Athletics

John Mackey Award Watch List

Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference

2005 (Junior): A prototypical tight end...coaches believe he has the talent and ability to pay at the next level...a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection who ranked third on the team with 35 receptions for 302 yards and a touchdown despite playing in only eight games...ranked sixth in the league with 3.89 receptions per game...recorded eight catches for 98 yards vs. North Texas (10/15)...also had seven receptions at nationally-ranked Texas Tech (9/10) and Arkansas State (9/24)...sprained MCL sidelined him for the last three games of the season but came back and impressed during spring drills...86 career catches rank him best all-time among FIU tight ends and fourth on the school all-time list, as are his 925 receiving yards.

2004 (Sophomore): Ranked third on the team with 42 receptions and his 12.1 yards per reception ranked third highest on the team among those who caught 10-or-more passes...51.0 all-purpose yards were fourth best on the team...recorded four touchdowns on the year...caught 10 balls in the opener at Youngstown State (9/11), which set a new school record for single-game receptions, for 131 yards?his first-ever 100-plus-yard game...caught at least two passes in every game the rest of the year...had six receptions for 76 yards at Louisiana-Monroe (10/16) and pulled in five passes in games versus nationally-ranked Stephen F. Austin (10/9) and Western Kentucky (11/20)...caught a season-long 29-yard pass and scored a touchdown against Georgia Southern (11/13)...forced to make three tackles on the year.

2003 (Freshman): True freshman who saw action in 11 games and got the start against Holy Cross (10/25)... made nine catches on the year for 113 yards, an average of 12.6 yards per grab...scored a touchdown on a six-yard reception from quarterback David Tabor vs. Jacksonville (10/30)...had his career-long 33-yard catch versus I-A Troy (10/18)...Honor Roll Student for spring 2004.

Gulliver Prep: A first-team 3A-1A all-county performer who was a two-way starter his junior and senior years at Gulliver Prep for head coach Steve Howey...caught 23 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns as a senior tight end and made 93 tackles with seven sacks and two fumble recoveries as a defensive end...Raiders’ 2002 team MVP in football...also played basketball, averaging 9.6 points per game in his final season...as a tenth grader at Miami Palmetto H.S., selected his basketball team’s MVP...earned the Spanish Award and qualified for the Honor Roll both years at Gulliver.

Personal: Born May 18, 1985...chose FIU over interest shown by Wisconsin, Rutgers, Colorado State and South Florida...son of Samuel and Patrian Smith...Sports Management major.