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Troy Smith was the 174th selection (5th round) of the 2007 NFL Draft...Stated Ravens director of college scouting Eric DeCosta: "I love his poise. He's got a leadership to him that is unique at his position in college football. He's respected. He's got an absolute cannon for an arm. We think he's got a lot of upside to help us and emerge as a backup quarterback at some point and maybe more than that."...Added Ravens head coach Brian Billick: "Troy's story should not be about where he ended up in the draft. The story is how he came from being a part-time running back to a part-time quarterback to beating out one of the nation's most highly-recruited players. He then guided his team to 2 Big 10 Titles and a place in the [2007] National Championship game. This young man has a presence. He is going to do well on and off the field."...Smith is the 1st Ohio State player ever drafted by the Ravens.
Highlights:
Named the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner as college football's top player...Was a 1st-team selection to the Walter Camp All-American squad and a 1st-team All-American honoree by The Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America and The Sporting News...Enters the NFL after working his way up to become one the finest all-around QBs in college football...Noted for his composure, leadership and big-play prowess, he excelled in the spotlight at Ohio State...Originally recruited for his overall athletic ability, Smith made his way onto the field as a slash back and kick returner early in his career...Determined to excel at QB, he beat out a stellar crop of talented QBs (including Justin Zwick, the nation's top recruit) to emerge as OSU's starter midway through his sophomore campaign...In his final 2 seasons with the Buckeyes, Smith developed into perhaps the most dynamic leader on the collegiate scene...During his senior campaign, he earned Ohio State's 7th Heisman Trophy, joining Les Horvath (1944), Vic Janowicz (1950), Howard "Hopalong" Cassady (1955), Archie Griffin (1974 and 1975) and Eddie George (1995) in the elite OSU fraternity...Completed 203 of 311 passes (65.3%) for 2,542 yards, a school-record 30 TDs and just 6 INTs his senior season...Also won the 2006 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the 2006 Davey O'Brien Award (top QB)...Was a finalist for the Maxwell Player of the Year Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (top senior QB)...Known for his strong and accurate arm, he is also elusive and has a scrambling ability to keep plays alive...He connected on 420 of 670 attempts (62.7%) for 5,720 yards, 54 TDs and a mere 13 INTs during his career...The 54 TD passes were 3 short of a school record...His passing yardage (5,720) ranks 6th in school annals, while his 6,874 yards of total offense rank 3rd in school history...Topped the 300-yard total offense mark 6 times, tying the school record...Smith threw for 300-or-more yards 3 times in his career, gaining 300 vs. Michigan in 2005, 342 vs. Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl and 316 vs. Michigan in 2006...Also added 1,168 rushing yards on 298 carries (4.0 avg.) and 14 TDs during his time at OSU...Smith finished his Buckeyes career 25-3 as a starter, including a 10-2 mark against ranked teams and a 3-0 ledger against rival Michigan...Impressively, Smith became the 1st Ohio State QB since Tippy Dye (1934-36) to lead the Buckeyes to 3-consecutive victories over Michigan...He engineered his team to a pair of late comeback wins over the Wolverines in 2004 and 2005, by putting together 2 long scoring drives in the 4th quarters of both contests.
College Career:
2006: Named the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner as college football's top player...Was a 1st-team selection to the Walter Camp All-American squad and a 1st-team All-American honoree by The Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America and The Sporting News...Started all 13 games as a senior during the Buckeyes' 12-1 season...Completed 203 of 311 passes (65.3%) for 2,542 yards, a school-record 30 TDs and just 6 INTs to also nab The Sporting News Player of the Year honors...Smith was voted by his teammates as OSU's 2006 Most Valuable Player...Named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year and garnered 1st-team All-Big Ten honors...Guided the Buckeyes to an appearance in the BCS National Championship game against Florida...Was picked off just 6 times during the season, with 3 of those coming off deflections...Smith led the Big Ten in passing efficiency with a 161.9 rating and also was tops in TD passes (30)...He threw at least 1 TD pass in 11 of the Buckeyes' 13 games and had 2 or more TD tosses in 9 of those contests...Also rushed for 204 yards and a TD on the year...He threw a career-high 4 TD passes against Iowa, Indiana, Northwestern and Michigan...Topped 200 yards passing in 6 of the team's 13 games, throwing for a season-high 316 yards in the regular-season finale victory over the No. 2 Wolverines...Threw for a pair of scores to lead OSU to a 24-7 triumph over then-No. 2 Texas in the 2nd game of the season...Tallied back-to-back 4-TD games at Northwestern and vs. Michigan, while registering 185 and 316 passing yards, respectively...Smith became the only Ohio State player to throw 4 TDs against Michigan in the 103 meetings between the 2 teams...He was named the Walter Camp and Cingular All-America National Player of the Week after the Michigan victory, a crucial win that placed the Buckeyes in the BCS title game...Won Big Ten Player of the Week honors 5 times in 2006.
2005: Had a sensational junior campaign by leading the Buckeyes to a 10-2 record and a share of the Big Ten championship...Started 10 of 11 games and guided OSU to 7-consecutive victories to end the year...Was 149-of-237 passing on the season for 2,282 yards, 16 TDs and 4 INTs...Also added 611 rushing yards on 136 attempts (4.5 avg.) to finish 2nd on the team in rushing...Smith became the 1st QB in OSU annals to run for 500 yards and throw for 2,000 yards in the same season...He racked up 337 yards of total offense against Michigan to cap the regular season and then followed up that performance 6 weeks later with 408 yards against Notre Dame in the Buckeyes' 34-20 Fiesta Bowl win...Smith earned the Fiesta Bowl's MVP honors, throwing for a career-high 342 yards and 2 TDs...He also ran for another 66 yards...His Fiesta Bowl passing yardage figure topped his previous high of 300 yards against Michigan in the '05 regular-season finale...Against the Irish, Smith became only the 2nd player in Ohio State annals to break the 400-yard mark in total offense in a game (Art Schlichter had 412 against Florida State in 1981)...Smith totaled 27 TDs as a junior, 16 via the air and 11 on the ground...He led the Big Ten and finished 6th nationally in passing efficiency, throwing for 2,282 yards and completing 63 percent of his passes...His 11 rushing scores on the year were 3 shy of the school record for rushing TDs by a QB (Les Horvath had 14 in 1944)...Smith had 4 games (Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame) in which he totaled more than 300 yards in total offense...He averaged 263 yards per contest in total offense...Smith scampered for a season-high 127 yards against Iowa...Tallied 2-or-more TD passes in a game 5 times during the season...His 85-yard bomb to WR Santonio Holmes in the Fiesta Bowl is the 2nd-longest TD pass in Buckeyes history.
2004: Began his sophomore season as the backup to Justin Zwick, but took over as the starter in game 7 after Zwick injured a shoulder the previous week at Iowa...Smith led OSU to a 4-1 finish down the stretch, capping the season with 896 yards passing and 339 yards rushing...Connected with Anthony Gonzalez on a 68-yard TD strike on the Buckeyes' 5th play from scrimmage in the Michigan game to give OSU an early 7-0 lead...Smith accounted for 3 TDs against Michigan (2 passing and 1 rushing)...Rushed for 145 yards against the Wolverines to become the 1st Buckeyes QB since Rod Gerald in 1977 to top the 100-yard barrier on the ground...Smith completed his 1st college pass against Cincinnati, hooking up with Santonio Holmes on a 23-yard 4th-quarter TD strike.
2003: Played in 10 games, but was used primarily as a slash back and on KORs...Made his debut in the season opener against Washington and had a 2-yard run...Also had 2 carries against Northwestern...His longest kickoff return was 18 yards at Indiana.
2002: Redshirted his true freshman season...Smith was the last player to sign with the Buckeyes in the winter of 2002...After receiving multiple offers to play QB elsewhere, he was intent on attending Ohio State...The Buckeyes recruited Smith to the team because of his overall athletic ability.
Personal:
Played his 1st 2 years at St. Edward (Lakewood, OH) HS, but transferred to Glenville (Cleveland) HS as a senior...Threw for 969 yards and 12 TDs as a senior, leading Glenville to the state playoffs...Played 3 years of basketball and ran track (high jump, long jump and 1,600-meter relay)...Older brother, Rod, played guard at Ohio State in the early 1990s, and another brother, Andre, played at Bowling Green...A 3rd sibling, Irvin White, played at Walsh College...Graduated from Ohio State at the end of the 2006 spring quarter with a bachelor's degree in communication...Born 7/20/84. |
