Donovan Cole Smith (born June 23, 1993) is an American professional football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft.

Donovan Smith
refer to caption
Smith with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
Personal information
Born: (1993-06-23) June 23, 1993 (age 31)
Hempstead, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:338 lb (153 kg)
Career information
High school:Owings Mills (MD)
College:Penn State (2011–2014)
Position:Offensive tackle
NFL draft:2015 / round: 2 / pick: 34
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Games played:136
Games started:136
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Smith was born in Hempstead, New York and lived in New York until he and his twin sister moved to Owings Mills, Maryland prior to their sophomore year in high school to live with their uncle and his wife.[1]

He attended Owings Mills High School, where he played football. He did not allow a single sack as a junior or senior and also was a standout defensive lineman. Smith played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[2] Smith also participated in track & field. Smith was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the ninth-best offensive tackle in his class.[3] He committed to Penn State to play college football.[4]

College career

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Smith attended Penn State from 2011 to 2014. After redshirting his first year, Smith became a starter in 2012 and would start 31 games during his career.[5]

After the 2014 season, Smith decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and entered the 2015 NFL draft.[6][7]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 5+58 in
(1.97 m)
338 lb
(153 kg)
34+38 in
(0.87 m)
10+58 in
(0.27 m)
5.01 s 1.82 s 3.04 s 4.79 s 7.95 s 32 in
(0.81 m)
9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
26 reps
All values from NFL Combine except 40 yd dash from Penn State Pro Day[8]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Smith in January 2021

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Smith in the second round with the 34th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.[9] On June 1, 2015, the Buccaneers signed him to a four-year, $6.06 million contract with $4.37 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.67 million.[10]

He entered his rookie season as the Buccaneers' starting left tackle. Smith started the Buccaneers' season-opening loss to the Tennessee Titans.[11] He finished his rookie season starting all 16 regular season contests.[12] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[13]

Smith was named the starting left tackle again the following season under new head coach Dirk Koetter. In the 2016 season, he played in all 16 games and started 15.[14] In the 2017 and 2018 seasons, he started all 16 games.[15][16]

On March 5, 2019, Smith signed a three-year, $41.5 million contract extension with the Buccaneers.[17]

Smith was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on December 18, 2020,[18] and activated on December 22.[19] Smith played and started all four games in the Buccaneers' playoff run that resulted in the team winning Super Bowl LV.[20][21]

On March 25, 2021, Smith signed a two-year, $31.8 million contract extension with the Buccaneers through the 2023 season.[22][23]

On March 7, 2023, Buccaneers released Smith after eight seasons.[24]

Kansas City Chiefs

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Smith signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on May 4, 2023.[25] In Smith's first season with the Chiefs, he helped them win Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers 25–22 to give Smith his second Super Bowl ring.[26]

Regular season

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Legend
First Team All-Pro
Second Team All-Pro
Won the Super Bowl
No type penalty
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Offense
GP GS Snaps Pct Holding False start Decl/Pen Acpt/Pen
2015 TB 16 16 1,090 100% 4 4 2 10
2016 TB 16 16 1,134 100% 4 6 0 13
2017 TB 16 16 1,059 97% 5 2 1 8
2018 TB 16 16 1,115 100% 3 2 1 6
2019 TB 15 15 1,056 99% 2 2 3 6
2020 TB 15 15 962 96% 5 3 1 10
2021 TB 17 17 1,148 97% 3 3 0 7
2022 TB 13 13 907 96% 7 4 1 12
2023 KC 9 9 594 98% 4 1 2 5
Career 133 133 9,065 98% 37 27 11 77

Personal life

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Smith was raised by his mother, Sharon Smith, and has four siblings. He has three sisters named Ebony, Tamika, and Danielle and has one brother named Dwayne. He studied criminology at Penn State and wants to become a detective or FBI agent in the future. He also enjoys reading, cooking, video games, fishing, and watching standup comedy.[27]

He appeared as a human canvas on the eighth season of Spike TV's Ink Master.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Bodani, Frank (December 29, 2014). "Pinstripe Bowl notes: Family reunion for Donovan Smith". ydr.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Bodani, Frank (July 1, 2010). "PSU recruiting spotlight: Saving Donovan Smith". ydr.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Donovan Smith". yahoo.com.
  4. ^ Bracken, Matt (August 7, 2007). "Decision is in for Owings Mills' Donovan Smith". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Wilson, Aaron (January 20, 2015). "After ups and downs at Penn State, Owings Mills' Donovan Smith tries for NFL". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Moyer, Josh (December 29, 2014). "Penn State OL Donovan Smith to declare for draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Wogenrich, Mark (December 29, 2014). "Penn State offensive lineman Donovan Smith to enter NFL draft – The Morning Call". The Morning Call. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "Donovan Smith – Penn State, OT : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". nfldraftscout.com.
  9. ^ "Buccaneers Draft OT Donovan Smith". Buccaneers.com. May 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "overthecap.com: Donovan Smith contract". overthecap.com. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  11. ^ "Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – September 13th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  12. ^ "Donovan Smith 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  13. ^ "2015 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Donovan Smith 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Donovan Smith 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "Donovan Smith 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Teope, Herbie (March 5, 2019). "Bucs, Donovan Smith agree to three-year, $41.5M deal". NFL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  18. ^ Smith, Scott (December 18, 2020). "Donovan Smith Placed on Reserve/COVID-19 List". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  19. ^ Smith, Scott (December 22, 2020). "Donovan Smith Activated from Reserve/COVID-19 List". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Patra, Kevin (February 7, 2017). "What we learned from Buccaneers win over Chiefs in Super Bowl LV". NFL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Super Bowl LV – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 7th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  22. ^ Patra, Kevin (March 24, 2021). "Buccaneers, LT Donovan Smith agree to terms on two-year, $31.8M extension". NFL.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  23. ^ Smith, Scott (March 25, 2021). "Donovan Smith Signs Contract Extension with Bucs". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  24. ^ Smith, Scott (March 7, 2023). "Bucs Release Donovan Smith After Eight Seasons as Ironman Left Tackle". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  25. ^ McMullen, Matt (May 4, 2023). "Five Things to Know About New Chiefs OT Donovan Smith". Chiefs.com. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Maaddi, Rob (February 12, 2024). "Patrick Mahomes rallies the Chiefs to second straight Super Bowl title, 25–22 over 49ers in overtime". AP News. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  27. ^ "Penn State Nittany Lions: Donovan Smith bio". gopsusports.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  28. ^ "@DSmith_76 is in the house! Welcome. #InkMaster". Twitter. October 4, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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