Antone Smith
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Antone Smith (born September 17, 1985) plays running back for the Florida State University Seminoles in the NCAA college football tournament. One of the highly touted running backs out of high school, Smith has been lauded for his speed, agility, and vision, not to mention his ability to weave through defenders and make them miss. Many fans believe however that despite his career performance as a junior, Smith has yet to unleash his true potential which the Seminoles supporters have long awaited since the departure of Lorenzo Booker. In 2007, Smith established new personal single bests in starts, rushes, rushing yards, receiving yards, touchdowns and had the longest catch of his career but FSU needs him to be consistent and produce better numbers if the team is to go far.
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Personal Life
Antone (pronounced as an-TAHN), a native of Pahokee, Florida, is the son of Classie Smith. In high school, he was nicknamed "Deuce" because he was sporting number "2" on his jersey. The alias still stuck despite him changing to number 23 then to number 6. Antone, who majored in sport management, has shown brilliance not only in the football field but also in the classroom after being named to the 2005 and 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team. Smith likens his style to Emmitt Smith, whom he grew up watching, because of their similar physique and strength.
High School
Smith attended high school at Pahokee where he was a standout not only in football, but in track as well. He finished as a state runner-up in both the 100m and 200m events when he was a sophomore. It was on the gridiron, however, that Smith caught the attention of many for his running ability often compared to that of Barry Sanders'. During his sophomore year, Smith rushed for more than 1,500 yards and was hyped to duplicate, or even improve on his output during his junior year until he was stopped by a high ankle sprain. Nonetheless, he was still able to finish 2003 with almost 1,000 yards rushing as Pahokee claimed the Class 2A state championship. In 2004, Smith returned all healed up and better than ever as he anchored coach Leroy Foster's offense all the way to a second straight 2B state title berth. In that championship game against Pensacola Catholic, Smith ran for 276 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns as the Red Raiders defeated the Crusaders, 43-9. He finished his senior year rushing for 2,814 yards and 44 TDs as he led Pahokee to an 11-1 overall record. He bagged several awards for his showing which include being named a Parade All-American, the Palm Beach County Player of the Year, and the Old Spice National Player of the Year. For the duration of his prep career, Smith has amassed over 6,000 yards on the ground.
His performance placed Smith on top of almost all recruiting publications and websites, including Rivals.com who gave him a five-star rating and named him as the No. 1 running back in the country, the No. 25 overall player in the nation, and the No. 3 overall player in the state of Florida. Others such as SuperPrep named him as the No. 1 overall running back and the No. 2 overall player in Florida, while ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated him as the No. 12 player overall. Smith, a first team 2B All-State selection, was also chosen to be part of Team Florida in the annual CalFlorida Bowl and was named the offensive MVP of the game.
College
Smith, who graduated from Pahokee in 2005, was courted by several universities headed by Florida State, Florida, Miami (Fla.) and Auburn. In the end, he signed with FSU and became part of the #2 rated recruiting class in the nation.
2005
During his rookie year, Smith played behind established running backs Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker. He also utilized his speed when he took part in Florida State's track program. During the season, Smith tallied his first rushing attempts in the home win over Citadel where he rushed 8 times for 37 yards and scored his first career touchdown. He also attempted a kickoff return in that game but only gained a yard. A couple of weeks later, Smith rushed six times for 17 yards as the 'Noles defeated Syracuse handily, 38-14. One of, if not, the best game of his rookie year came at Duke where he rushed for a season long 45 yards after making an obstacle course out of the Blue Devils' defenders all the way to the endzone, before finishing the game with 7 carries for 76 yards and 2 scores in the 55-24 victory. He also caught his first passes in that win, recording a season high 16 yards on 2 receptions. After failing to gain any yardage on a solitary attempt against Maryland, Smith rushed for 28 on 4 carries in the loss to N.C. State (with 2 catches for 8 yards), had 6 carries for 17 yards in the loss at Clemson, added 14 on 3 attempts in the loss at Florida, then recorded only a carry for a loss on his bowl game debut at the Orange Bowl loss to Penn State.
He finished the season as the third leading rusher, producing 188 yards and 3 scores on 36 carries in nine appearances. He paced all backs with more than 10 carries in yards per rush (5.2) and was tied for second on the team in rushing TDs.
2006
Entering his sophomore year, Smith moved into a bigger role as evident by his participation during the Garnet & Gold Game where he scored on a 3-yard touchdown run and was named co-MVP with Booker and co-recipient of the Hinesman Award with Lawrence Timmons for their dominant play during the spring game. By the start of the regular season, he was listed as back-up to Booker at the tailback spot.
In the season-opener at Miami, Smith had 9 carries for 5 yards in the 13-10 win, then came up with 25 yards on 6 carries the following week in the victory over Troy. In addition, he also had three catches in both games for a combined 60-yard gain. He had his first 10+ carry game in the 1-touchdown loss to Clemson, where he tallied only 36 yards. He bounced back with an explosive showing in FSU's win against Rice where he tallied his first career 100-yard game, producing 137 yards (highest single game rushing total by a Seminole in 2006) on 12 carries with two scoring runs (3rd-most overall rushing TDs in a single game in the ACC in 2006). His 60-yard dash against the Owls also stood as the ninth-best in the ACC while his 12 points scored was 5th in the league. At N.C. State, Smith recorded only 25 yards on 10 carries but had 17 yards on 2 catches in the 20-24 loss. At Duke, he sprinted for an average of 20.25 yards per rush (81 yards on 4 carries) while scoring an 80-yard (2nd longest rush in the conference and tied for 10th in school history) touchdown to help the 'Noles defeat the Blue Devils, 51-24. His average stood as the 4th-best in the ACC during that year. Against Boston College, he was limited to 2 yards on 4 carries but managed to haul in 62 yards on 6 catches (career best) on the 5-point losing effort to the Eagles. At Maryland, he chipped in 83 yards on 14 carries with 1 scoring run as the Noles fell short of the Terps, 24-27. When FSU returned home to shut-out Virginia, Smith contributed a touchdown to record the first time he was able to reach the endzone in back-to-back games. The following week, the fortunes were reversed when the Noles got blanked by Wake Forest, with Smith rushing six times for 39 yards in the 0-30 defeat.
Following the humiliating loss, Smith was thrust into the starting line-up in lieu of Booker for his first career start. Unfortunately, after just one rushing attempt, he dislocated his elbow and was eventually declared to be sidelined for the rest of the season. Despite missing the last two games, Smith ended the year as the Noles' second-leading rusher with 88 carries for 456 yards and five touchdown runs in 11 appearances. He was named as the team's Offensive Seminole Warrior at the postseason awards banquet.
2007
During the spring game, Smith led the Seminole ground attack and was declared as the Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player on Offense. With the departure of Booker, Smith was hyped to succeed as the Seminoles' featured back for the 2007 season. Expectations were high, with Bowden expecting him to rush for over 1,000 yards and even the NCAA'08 game listed Smith as one of the three "Impact Players" for Florida State, alongside linebacker Geno Hayes and safety Myron Rolle.
In his first start as FSU's first string tailback, Smith led the team in both rushing (14 carries for 90 yards and 1 TD) and receiving (5 catches for 57 yards) as the Noles bowed to Clemson, 18-24, in the Bowden Bowl. In the home opener against UAB, Smith rushed 19 times for 62 yards but finished the game with a concussion after taking a hit mid-roll from UAB free safety Will Dunbar. The injury did not keep him out for long as he returned the following week against Colorado and rushed 19 times for 68 yards and 1 TD with 2 receptions for 16 yards in the 16-6 victory. For the second time in his career, he managed to score a touchdown in back-to-back games when he scored one in the 21-14 win over Alabama. Against N.C. State, he managed to compile 55 yards on 17 carries as FSU recorded its fourth consecutive win. After chipping in only 32 yards on 14 carries in the loss at Wake Forest, Smith registered his first 100-yard game of the season after tallying 114 on 22 attempts in the loss to Miami. Against Duke, he turned out the second-best rushing game of his career after producing career highs in carries (23) and yardage (146). In the upset win over 2nd ranked Boston College, Smith had 22 carries for 63 yards while recording a career high 83 receiving yards on 5 receptions before being limited to only 12 yards on 8 carries in the loss to 11th ranked Virginia Tech. He also got hurt against the Hokies which forced him to sit out the Maryland game. He returned in the regular season finale at #12 Florida and was held to season lows with 4 carries and 6 yards.
In the 2007 Music City Bowl, Smith produced the finest game of his FSU career as of yet after rushing 17 times for a career high 156 yards, along with a career-high single game average of 9.2 yards per rush in the heartbreaking 28-35 loss to Kentucky. Despite missing some playing time, Smith still had a breakout junior year, being responsible for 43% of the team's rushes and had 30% off the teams offensive plays (rushes and receptions) to become the first player with 30% of the team's offensive plays since Mark Lyles in 1979. He finished the year as the team's leading rusher with 192 carries for 819 yards and 3 TDs in 12 outings, to rank 83rd in the FBS in rushing yards per game, 6th in the ACC in rushing, 5th in the ACC in rushing in conference games, and was 4th among returning rushers in the conference. His value to the team was also evident as he rushed for 33 first downs and was able to move the chains 43 times total, second only to Preston Parker. In addition his back-to-back 100 yard rushing game against Duke and Miami gave him the distinction of being the first FSU back to accomplish that feat since Washington did it in 2004.
2008
Following the Garnet & Gold scrimmage, Smith was named as the team's most dependable running back after finishing the game with 9 carries for 34 yards and 1 score.
Highlights
| Antone Smith Florida State Highlights (2007). |
Career Stats
| Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
| Year | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lst |
| 2005 | 36 | 188 | 5.2 | 45 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 88 | 456 | 5.2 | 80 | 5 | 21 | 174 | 8.3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 192 | 819 | 4.3 | 59 | 3 | 22 | 203 | 9.2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Achievements
- 2008 FSU's Matt Schmauch Academic Achievement Award
- 2008 FSU's Most Dependable Running Back (Spring)
- 2008 Phil Steele Preseason Second-Team All-ACC
- 2007 FSU's Best conditioned athlete
- 2007 FSU's Most Outstanding Player on Offense (Spring)
- 2007 FSU's Offensive MVP (Spring)
- 2006 FSU's Co-Hinesman Awardee (most dominant player in spring)
- 2006 FSU's Co-Offensive MVP (Spring)
- 2006 FSU's Offensive Seminole Warrior
References
- Antone Smith Cfbstats.com
- Antone Smith Florida State Profile
- Antone Smith Scout.com Profile
- Florida State's Antone Smith Packs A Powerful Punch
- Smith Injury A Scary Moment
