Troy Smith

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Troy Smith

Smith holding his 2006 Heisman trophy
Date of birth July 20, 1984 (age 22)
Place of birth Columbus, Ohio
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Position(s) QB
College Ohio State
NFL Draft 2007 / Round TBD
Career Highlights
Awards 2006 Heisman Trophy
2006 Sporting News College Football Player of the Year
2006 Fiesta Bowl MVP
2006 Walter Camp Award
2006 Davey O'Brien Award
2006 Associated Press Player of the Year

Troy Smith (born July 20, 1984 in Columbus, Ohio) is the former starting quarterback for The Ohio State University football team from 2004-2006, and the winner of the 2006 Heisman Trophy.

Smith graduated from Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio where he was coached by Ted Ginn Sr., father of his current Ohio State and high school teammate Ted Ginn Jr. After a strong junior season at Glenville, Smith was invited to participate in the Elite 11 competition, which features the eleven top ranked high school quarterback prospects in the United States. Smith earned great praise following his performance, and although it was relatively late in the recruiting process, Ohio State offered Smith a football scholarship. He verbally committed to the Buckeyes, signing his letter of intent on February 6th, 2002. Smith was the last player to sign with the Buckeyes.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Troy Smith's mother, Tracy Smith, raised him and two siblings in Columbus, then moved to Cleveland in 1987, without the support of his father. Smith first expressed interest in playing football in Cleveland, where he played for the Glenville A's midget football team, initially as running back and tight end. Irvin White, his coach, moved Smith to quarterback after a few games and Smith stayed in the position. In 1993 Smith was placed in foster care with Diane and Irvin White while his mother fought an undisclosed drug addiction and served a short period in jail for drug-related arrests in 1993 and 1994. Smith was reunited with his mother in 1997.[1]

[edit] High school career

Smith played his first two years at St. Edward High School, a parochial school in west suburban Lakewood. He excelled in basketball and football but left the school in 2000 in the wake of an incident, which occurred during a basketball game against Toledo-St.John High School. During the game, Smith knocked an opposing player unconscious for what he later told the media were racial slurs levied at him by his counterpart.[2] a charge denied by the opposing player and rejected by both high schools.[3] Smith returned to his East Side neighborhood of Glenville to play for the Tarblooders as a senior under Ted Ginn, Sr. Smith threw for 971 yards and 12 touchdowns during the 2001 season, leading Glenville to the state playoffs, in addition to playing wide receiver. He also played three years of basketball and ran track (high jump, long jump, and 1,600-meter relay). West Virginia University had recruited Smith, but when Ohio State coach Jim Tressel agreed to give Smith a chance at quarterback, Smith accepted the last scholarship of Ohio State's 2002 football recruiting class.[4]

[edit] College career

Ohio State's Troy Smith hands off to Antonio Pittman vs the 2006 Texas Longhorns
Ohio State's Troy Smith hands off to Antonio Pittman vs the 2006 Texas Longhorns

As a redshirted freshman for the Buckeyes, Smith played sparingly at Running Back and Kick Returner in 2003. Smith played the season opener against Washington as a scatback and returner, and he compiled fourteen yards rushing and 83 return yards. After the game, he appeared on the NFL scouting radar as an "athelete". Off the field, Smith was involved in an altercation outside a dormitory on 2003-11-16, which the university claimed was limited to acting as a "peacekeeper".[5] Smith pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine.[6]

He entered his sophomore season as the backup quarterback to Justin Zwick, but took over as the starter when Zwick was injured halfway through the 2004 season against Iowa. Smith won four of the five games he started in 2004, including a victory over the archrival Michigan Wolverines. Smith was suspended for breaking an undisclosed team rule before the Alamo Bowl, with Coach Tressel extending the suspension to include the first game of the 2005 season after it was revealed that Smith had allegedly accepted $500 from a booster.[2]

With Smith at QB, Ohio State lost only two games in the 2005 regular season, one as a starter. The first was to the eventual BCS National Champion Texas Longhorns (which he did not start) and the other was to the Penn State Nittany Lions, co-Big Ten champions. Smith's 2005 stats included 2,282 passing yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. This led to a quarterback rating of 162.66, the fourth-highest of the season.[7] He rushed for 611 yards and 11 touchdowns on 136 carries. In January 2006, he was named the Offensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl, after leading the Buckeyes to a 34-20 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

In the second week of the 2006 season, Smith and the Buckeyes took revenge for their 2005 loss to Texas. The top ranked Buckeyes won their rematch with the (again) second-ranked Longhorns, 24-7. Smith went 17-27 with 269 yards passing, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. For many fans and analysts, Smith's performance against the Longhorns gave credibility to the preseason Heisman Trophy hype he'd received. His passing statistics improved during the 2006 season, completing 67% of his passes for 2,507 yards, with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. This led to a quarterback rating of 167.87, again fourth in the country.[8]

Smith was one of five finalists for the 2006 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is given to the top senior college quarterback.[9]

Teammates voted Smith the 2006 most valuable player.[10] On 2006-12-07 the Davey O'Brien Foundation awarded Smith the Davey O'Brien Award for best college quarterback. He defeated other finalists Colt Brennan of the University of Hawaii and Brady Quinn of the University of Notre Dame.[11]

In three games against Michigan, Smith has a total of 1,151 yards of total offense, two rushing touchdowns, and seven passing touchdowns. The Buckeyes won all three games, making Smith the first Ohio State quarterback since Tippy Dye (1934-1936) to quarterback in three victories over Michigan, and the first to win three straight games against Michigan as a starter.[12]

Smith's college football career came to an end on January 8, 2007, against the Florida Gators in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game game. Smith completed just four of 14 passes for 35 yards along with an interception, a fumble, and was sacked five times in a 14-41 defeat for the Buckeyes.

[edit] Heisman Trophy

Smith won the 2006 Heisman Memorial Trophy on Dec.8,2006 .[13] He beat out sophomore RB/QB Darren McFadden (2nd) from Arkansas and QB Brady Quinn (3rd), senior quarterback from Notre Dame. Smith became the first true quarterback from the Big Ten to ever win the coveted award. In winning the 2006 Heisman Trophy, Smith took 86.7% of the first place votes, which is a record. His tally of 2,540 votes was the third largest behind that of the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush of the University of Southern California (2,541 votes). His margin of victory (1,662 votes) was also the second largest in the history of the award, eclipsed only by that O.J. Simpson who won by 1,750 votes in 1968 and had the largest vote total of 2,853 votes. Troy Smith joined Les Horvath (1944), Vic Janowicz (1950), Howard "Hopalong" Cassady (1955), Archie Griffin (1974 and 1975) and Eddie George (1995) in the elite Buckeye fraternity.

Smith earned the award by leading Ohio State to an undefeated regular season, with high profile road games against defending National Champion Texas, and later against the Iowa Hawkeyes. He capped his season, securing his claim to the Heisman, with an outstanding performance in his final game against second-ranked Michigan on November 18, 2006, throwing for 316 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-39 victory.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Passing

Year Games Attempts Completions Comp % Yards TDs Interception QB Rating
2002 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2004 8 122 68 55.7% 896 8 3 134.15
2005 11 237 149 62.9% 2,282 16 4 162.66
2006 12 297 199 67.0% 2,507 30 5 167.87
Career 44 656 416 63.4% 5,685 54 12 159.72

[edit] Rushing

Year Games Rushes Yards Average Touchdowns
2002 2 0 0 0 0
2003 11 3 14 4.7 0
2004 9 82 339 4.1 2
2005 11 136 611 4.5 11
2006 12 62 233 3.8 1
Career 44 283 1,197 4.2 14

[edit] Total offense

Year Games Plays Yards Average Touchdowns
2002 2 0 0 0 0
2003 11 3 14 4.7 0
2004 9 204 1,235 6.0 10
2005 11 373 2,893 7.6 27
2006 12 359 2,740 7.6 31
Career 44 939 6,882 7.33 68

[edit] College awards

[edit] Pro career

Smith is eligible for the 2007 NFL Draft. He is considered as one of the top quarterbacks available. On January 30, 2007, Smith is quoted by the media urging his hometown team, the Cleveland Browns, to select him in the NFL Draft.[14]. There is even a Web site dedicated to helping him get drafted by the Browns, DraftTroy.com.

[edit] Trivia

  • Smith is cross dominant as he throws right-handed, but writes left-handed.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Forde, Pat. "Smith, mom to share heartwarming moment of triumph", ESPN, 2006-12-07. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
  2. ^ a b "Heisman profile: Troy Smith's long and sometimes rough road to Columbus", Associated Press, 2006-12-05. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
  3. ^ "Pointed elbow, words may still haunt Smith", The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2006-10-06. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  4. ^ Ralph, Russo. "Heisman win is emotional for Troy Smith", Associated Press, 2006-12-10.
  5. ^ Dulac, Gerry. "Counselor saw Holmes' trouble coming", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2006-06-28, p. F1. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  6. ^ Curtis, Bryan. "It's Pretty Good to Be Me", Promise (A Football Story in Three Acts) II. The B.M.O.C., Play Magazine, 2006-08-20, p. Sec. 6, Col. 1. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  7. ^ 2005 NCAA Division I-A Passing Leaders. ESPN. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  8. ^ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified. ESPN http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/sortables?year=2006&sort=rat&stat=pass&group=80.+Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  9. ^ Ohio State University Department of Athletics (2006-11-02). Smith One of Five Finalist for 2006 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-11. Smith One of Five Finalist for 2006 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award]
  10. ^ Ohio State University Department of Athletics (2006-11-03). Smith Named Buckeyes' Most Valuable Player. Press release.
  11. ^ Davey O’Brien Foundation (2006-12-07). OHIO STATE'S TROY SMITH WINS 2006 DAVEY O'BRIEN NATIONAL QUARTERBACK AWARD. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
  12. ^ Gordon, Ken, May, Tim, & Mitchell, Shawn. "Dye, 91, watches Smith equal his trifecta over UM", OSU Notebook, Columbus Dispatch, 2006-11-19. Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
  13. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2692486
  14. ^ Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith pushing Browns hard to draft him

[edit] External links

[edit] Videos

Preceded by
Justin Zwick		 Ohio State Buckeyes
Starting Quarterbacks
2004-2006		 Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Reggie Bush		 Heisman Trophy Winner
2006		 Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Reggie Bush		 Walter Camp Award Winner
2006		 Succeeded by
Current
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