Tag: Deion Smith

Former LSU receiver commits to rival Ole Miss

Former LSU receiver Deion Smith will be joining Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.

A former LSU receiver finally found a new home on Monday.

[autotag]Deion Smith[/autotag], a former four-star recruit, committed to Ole Miss. Smith began his career at LSU in 2021 before transferring and spending the next two years at the JUCO level.

Smith was a member of LSU’s deep receiver class in 2021, that also included [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Hilton[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Bech[/autotag].

At LSU, Smith appeared in six games, catching 11 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith left LSU after some academic issues boiled up but showed promise on the field when he got his chance.

His most impressive highlight came against Central Michigan, leaping over a defender to make the catch inn the back of the endzone.

As a recruit, Smith was the top-ranked player in Mississippi and the eighth-ranked receiver nationally. He now gets back to SEC ball, joining Lane Kiffin’s high-powered offense at Ole Miss.

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2023 Season Preview: Oklahoma Sooners look to break drought vs. the BYU Cougars

The Oklahoma Sooners are 0-2 vs. BYU all-time. Will 2023 be the year OU beats the Cougars?

The Oklahoma Sooners have taken on the Brigham Young Cougars twice in the history of the program.

They are 0-2 in those games. The most recent loss came in the infamous Sam Bradford injury game in 2009, which ended any national championship aspirations that season.

This time around, they will play in Provo, Utah. The November matchup could provide an interesting weather element for the Sooners to have to manage.

BYU is an interesting team. Their top 22 can compete with just about anyone in the Big 12. Depth, however, is the concern.

They added 19 guys this offseason from their recruiting class and the transfer portal, which should factor into their two-deep.

The Cougars hope to have better depth than they did a year ago. BYU returns 63% of its production from 2022. That ranks 70th in the nation according to ESPN (ESPN+).

Offensively, led by the now-departed Jaren Hall, BYU was 36th in the country. Hall threw for 3,171 yards, 31 touchdowns, and only six interceptions.

To replace Hall, Sitake brought in former USC and Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis. Slovis started 11 games for the Pittsburgh Panthers last season, throwing for 2,397 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Cougars also lose their top three running backs from a year ago. To mitigate the loss of leading rusher Christopher Brooks, BYU added transfers Aidan Robbins and Deion Smith.

Robbins ran for more than 1,000 yards last season for the UNLV Rebels. Smith ran for more than 300 yards for the Colorado Buffaloes.

They lost Puka Nacua, their top wide receiver from a year ago, but return a lot of production from 2022 and added depth this offseason.

Defensively the Cougars ranked 97th in points per game last season. They have to improve on that side of the ball if they want to compete in year one in the Big 12.

Five of their top six leaders in tackles return. They also had five players record four tackles for loss or more, and three of them return for this season. Ben Bywater led the way in 2022 with 98 total tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, and three interceptions.

Like the Oklahoma Sooners, the Cougars struggled to find a consistent pass rush last season. They bring back a lot of experience, but not a ton of production. John Nelson led BYU in sacks in 2022 with just three.

Boise State Broncos transfer Isaiah Bagnah hopes to help with that. He had seven tackles for loss and six sacks in the 2021 season before he was limited to just six games in 2022.

They have to figure out how to generate pressure after finishing 130th in sacks last year out of 131 teams. They also finished 129th in tackles for loss and 98th against the run.

But they have a great coach in Kalani Sitake who hopes to see vast improvement this year.

This is a tricky game because in late November in Provo, the temperature averages 52. The weather could play a factor. The crowd will provide a raucous environment, hosting arguably the biggest game in their program’s history. This has the feel of a “blue-out,” with the team rocking their all-blues and those in attendance matching.

This is a team with not a lot of depth, so do they wear out by the time they play OU? The key for this game is to get up on them early. If they hang around, BYU will beat you.

Until OU shows me they can do that, I’m not betting on it.

Score Prediction: 34-27 BYU

Predicted Record: 9-2

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Colorado football injury update: Deion Smith, Trevor Woods expected to play at Washington

Mike Sanford shared an encouraging update on two key players

Two key pieces for the Colorado Buffaloes, running back Deion Smith and safety Trevor Woods, are healthy and expected to play at Washington on Saturday, per interim head coach Mike Sanford.

Smith has been banged up a couple of times this year, including a scary moment against Cal, and he hasn’t played since Nov. 5 against Oregon. The Buffs’ leading rusher should provide a needed spark in Seattle.

Arguably Colorado’s most exciting defensive player this season, Woods also didn’t face USC after getting banged up the week prior. He remains second on the team with 79 total tackles and has been a strong asset in the Buffs’ young secondary.

In their places against USC, Alex Fontenot returned with 108 rushing yards and Jeremy Mack played an increased role, totaling 11 tackles.

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Mike Sanford gives encouraging update on Deion Smith’s injury

Thankfully, Mike Sanford gave an encouraging update on Deion Smith

Early in the fourth quarter, Colorado Buffaloes running back Deion Smith suffered a scary injury when soon after receiving a pass, he took a big hit from a Cal defender. Smith was subsequently carted off the field and did not return to the game.

Interim head coach Mike Sanford was asked about Smith’s condition postgame, and he thankfully revealed that CU’s lead RB is back standing up and walking again. Sanford added that he was proud of his Buffs for how they supported their fallen teammate during a difficult moment.

“That was a moment I’ll never forget in my coaching career, just the brotherhood that was shown through that moment,” Sanford said.

Smith took to Twitter following the game to thank everyone for the support and to congratulate his Buffs on the 20-13 overtime win.

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Colorado football countdown to Week 1 kickoff: 20 days

We’re No. 20 Deion Smith and Robert Barnes days until kickoff

The Colorado Buffaloes have quite the duo sporting the No. 20 this year. Both linebacker Robert Barnes and running back Deion Smith will have big roles on their respective side of the ball in 2022.

Smith has been highlighted numerous times this offseason as he has risen up the depth chart and will be a valuable swiss army knife on both offense and special teams.

Barnes has been mentioned a lot by the coaches as a leader that has stepped up this offseason. Barnes has played both safety and linebacker in his college career but he’ll suit up at LB again for his final season in Boulder.

Onto day 20 of our countdown to kickoff against TCU:

Deion Smith could be used in new ways this season

Our Tony Cosolo caught up with Deion Smith after practice

I tried to tell you all it was coming. Running back Deion Smith has risen up the depth chart this offseason and has formed the makings of a dynamic one-two punch with fellow RB Alex Fontenot.

In high school, Smith was a three-star athlete that played all over the field, not only running the ball but splitting out wide as a passing threat as well. Smith sees himself as that type of weapon in offensive coordinator Mike Sanford’s system:

“That’s one of the reasons that I really liked this offense just because I’m not really limited to being in the backfield,” Smith said. “Even in spring ball, I saw myself split out wide and sometimes even in a slot. That is very exciting to me, just because it’s been a minute since I was able to do those type of things.”

The offensive line has been a large focus of this offseason as the Buffs search for their 2020 form. Smith was fired up about how that group can play this season under Kyle DeVan.

“I’m really energized about this offensive line just because I know they love their coach and I know they’ll do anything for their coach and it’s just a different energy from them,” Smith said. “Like I said before, it’s just from the offense all together. It feels different. I don’t know what it is. I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is but between each other, I feel like it feels different. I’m ready to be dynamic this season, especially with those big guys.”

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Karl Dorrell calls Alex Fontenot and Deion Smith a ‘one-two punch’ at RB

Karl Dorrell called Alex Fontenot and Deion Smith a ‘one-two punch’ at RB

Even with Jarek Broussard now at Michigan State, the Buffs will likely be a run-heavy team in 2022. Sixth-year senior Alex Fontenot is Colorado’s most experienced tailback but Deion Smith, a fifth-year junior, is right there with him, according to Karl Dorrell.

Colorado’s head coach was asked about the running back competition at media day and he confirmed our Tony Cosolo’s belief that Smith is ready to produce. (h/t Adam Munsterteiger of BuffStampede):

“Those are the top two between Alex and Deion,” Dorrell said. “Both of them had great off-seasons. Both of them are over 200 pounds, which is kind of one of those mandates that I wanted them to get a little bit more muscle, girth, depth in terms of those things. They look better physically. They’ve digested the offense. They understand both of them are kind of leaders of being the 1-2 punch for us offensively.”

In 2019 and 2021 combined, Smith rushed for just 260 yards and two touchdowns, one of which came against USC last season. More snaps are now available for Smith, though.

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Where every LSU football player in the transfer portal landed

LSU had a handful of players enter the portal. Where did they end up?

With [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] in and [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] out, LSU was bound to see some departures in the transfer portal. It’s natural with coaching changes.

The Tigers probably did better than some expected, not losing a ton of critical players, though there are certainly some that hurt.

Since November, LSU has had 10 players enter the portal. All but one have found their next home, with receiver [autotag]Deion Smith[/autotag] being the lone remaining player to make a decision. Talent-wise, Smith is one of the best remaining players in the portal, but because of the Tigers’ depth at wide receiver, it’s a loss they can deal with.

With transfers, you never know how big of a loss it is until we have time to see how it all played out, though some are more obvious losses than others, such as cornerback [autotag]Eli Ricks[/autotag].

LSU also had a few transfers end up at division rivals, which is still something new to college football. With that said, let’s take a look at where the players who transferred will be playing this fall.

Max Johnson and Deion Smith transferring from LSU, Jake Johnson decommitts

Rough stretch for LSU.

LSU Football lost a couple of key names to the transfer portal on Tuesday afternoon.

Sophomore quarterback Max Johnson tweeted that he would be playing elsewhere in 2022. It was also reported that sophomore WR and former blue-chip recruit Deion Smith would be joining him.

Johnson entered this season in an open competition with Myles Brennan. Before camp was even underway, Brennan got hurt and Johnson assumed the starting role.

Now a few months later, both Johnson and Brennan are in the transfer portal.

In his career at LSU, Johnson played in 18 games. He threw for 3,883 yards and 35 touchdowns. He was able to lead LSU to a couple of big wins, leading game-winning drives against Florida in 2020 and Texas A&M in 2021.

Smith did not see much time as a freshman in 2021. He had a big game against Central Michigan but dealt with an injury down the stretch. There is certainly talent there, and he should be a heavily coveted transfer.

In recruiting news, Max Johnson’s little brother, Jake announced he would be reopening his recruitment and decomitting from LSU. It makes sense given Max’s transfer. Jake was one of the top components of the 2022 recruiting class. They have one other tight end commit with Mason Taylor. It remains to be seen if he will stick with LSU.

LSU football’s five best plays of the 2021 season

What were some of your favorite plays of the season so far?

LSU’s 2021 season has been tumultuous, to say the least.

Not only are the Tigers 4-4 in a year where they were expected by some to bounce back from a subpar 2020 campaign, but LSU also made the decision to let go of Ed Orgeron, the man who brought the program a national title just two years ago.

While it may seem like doom and gloom for the LSU Tigers right now, there have still been some entertaining moments this season that should not go overlooked because the end goal of the year has now been put out of reach.

Here are the five best plays of the 2021 season (so far).