| No. 19 –Los Angeles Rams | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | (1997-09-21)September 21, 1997 (age 27) Haines City, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 176 lb (80 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Haines City (Haines City) | ||||||||||
| College: | Florida A&M (2017–2022) | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Xavier Smith (born September 21, 1997) is an American professionalfootballwide receiver for theLos Angeles Rams of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theFlorida A&M Rattlers and was signed by the Rams as anundrafted free agent in2023.
Smith was born on September 21, 1997, inHaines City, Florida.[1] He attendedRidge Community High School, then transferred toHaines City High School where he playedrunning back.[2][3] Being small, at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and 155 pounds (70 kg), and without significant statistics, he received no offers to playcollege football.[4] He developed a highlight film and contacted over 100 college coaches, but received no interest.[4] After he graduated from Haines City, he initially quit playing football, spending 2016 working withAmazon.[4]
Smith applied forFlorida A&M University in 2017 at the suggestion of his mother, who had attended there.[4] After being accepted, he tried out for theFlorida A&M Rattlers football team as awalk-on and ultimately made the team.[4] His brother, Kareem, had previously played with the Rattlers, and Smith wore the same jersey number 19 as his brother had.[3] Smithredshirted as a truefreshman in 2017, being a member of the scout team, while becoming awide receiver.[4] In 2018, he broke out with 52receptions for 727 yards, being the team leader in both categories as well as a second-team All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) selection.[2]
In 2019, Smith totaled 77 catches for 1,159 yards and 11touchdowns, being fifth nationally in receiving yards per game, ninth in receptions per game, 10th in receiving yards and 16th in touchdown catches.[2][5] He received several honors including first-team All-MEAC, BoxToRowAll-American, second-teamAmerican Football Coaches Association] (AFCA) All-American, and HERO Sports sophomore All-American.[5] The 2020 season was canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Smith recorded 64 catches for 713 yards and three touchdowns in the 2021 season, being the team leader in receiving and placing sixth in theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).[2][5] As asenior in 2022, he caught 87 passes for 1,021 yards and 11 touchdowns, being named an HBCU All-American and All-SWAC while leading the conference in receiving.[4][6] He ended his collegiate career with 44 games played and 193 catches for 2,599 yards.[2] He was invited to theHBCU Legacy Bowl all-star game following the 2022 season, where he caught six passes for 85 yards and a touchdown while being named the offensiveMVP.[4][7]
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft9+1⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | 29+1⁄4 in (0.74 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.48 s | 1.52 s | 2.52 s | 4.16 s | 7.19 s | 36.5 in (0.93 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | 13 reps | |
| All values from HBCU Combine/Pro Day[8] | ||||||||||||
After going unselected in the2023 NFL draft, Smith signed with theLos Angeles Rams as anundrafted free agent.[9] He was waived at the final roster cuts and subsequently re-signed to thepractice squad.[10] After having spent the entire season on the practice squad, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams on January 16, 2024.[11]
Smith was waived by the Rams on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad.[12] He was elevated to the active roster on September 21, and made his NFL debut the following day in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers. With under a minute remaining in the game and the score tied, Smith's 38-yard punt return to midfield helped set up the Rams' game-winning field goal. He was signed to the active roster on October 17.[13]