Xavier Smith

Position:
Inside Linebacker
Height:
6-1
Weight:
252
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Stafford, Va.
High School:
Brooke Point
Major:
Marketing

Prior to 2022 season: East Carolina’s leading tackler two of the last three years (2019, 2020) who has started 30 of 44 career games … Two-time team captain (2020-21) … Booked 198 career tackles (103 solo) … Tallied 13.5 TFLs (-41 yards) which includes 3.0 sacks (-25 yards) … Forced three fumbles, two recoveries, 11 batted passes and eight quarterback pressures … Credited with at least one stop in 35-straight games entering the 2022 season opener … Booked multiple tackles in a game 28 times Tallied double-digit stops in a game four times (10/Gardner-Webb ’19, 10/Temple ’19, 12/South Florida ’20,15/Navy ’20) … After experiencing action as a tight end during first collegiate season in 2018, was quickly moved back to his original linebacking role on the defensive side of the ball upon the arrival of the new coaching staff in the spring of 2019 and his confidence soared in familiar surroundings … Earned AAC Honorable Mention honors by leagues head coaches (2020) ... A 2022 Third-Team Preseason All-AAC selection by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and a fourth-team choice by Athlon Sports.

2022: Booked two tackles (both assisted) and assisted on a tackle for loss against No. 13 NC State ... Registered three tackles (two solo) and was credited with a pass breakup versus Old Dominion ... Tallied five tackles (two solo) in the win over Campbell ... Posted 10 tackles (three solo) as well as a sack (-6 yards), a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry against Navy ... Logged four tackles (all assisted) and recovered a fumble versus South Florida ... Notched four tackles (all solo) and collected a sack (-4 yards) at Tulane ... Booked six tackles (four solo) and was credited with a quarterback hurry in the quadruple-overtime triumph over Memphis ... Posted four tackles (all assisted), including half a tackle for loss (-2 yards) in the win over UCF ... Logged four tackles (all assisted) at Cincinnati.

2021: Started eight of 12 games during his fourth year with the program … Named a team captain for the second-straight year … Tallied 44 tackles (23 solo) standing fifth on the squad … Led the team in tackles twice (South Carolina/8, Tulane/9) … Named one of four game captains at Marshall … Finished season with 3.0 TFLs (-7 yards) and a half sack (-4 yards) against South Carolina … Credited with one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries … Registered a half TFL in five contests for minus seven yards ... First-Team Preseason All-AAC pick by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview ... Second-Team Preseason All-AAC selection by Athlon Sports ... Selected to the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List.

2020: Earned All-American Athletic Conference accolades (honorable mention) from league coaches … Started all nine games at will linebacker … Topped unit in tackles (72), TFLs (8.0 for -30 yards), pass breakups (6) and quarterback hurries (4) … Of his 72 stops, 39 came as solo hits … Stood tied for third in the AAC with a tackles-per-game average of 8.0 … Also credited with 2.5 sacks (South Florida, Tulsa, SMU), a pair of forced fumbles (UCF, Temple) and one recovery (Georgia State) … Registered five more tackles in eight contests and reached double-digits twice – 12 (11 solo) at South Florida and a career-best 15 vs. Navy in successive weeks … Had nine stops in road finale at Temple, booked eight in back-to-back outings vs. UCF and Georgia State, collected six during ECU’s 52-38 season-ending win against SMU, tallied five at Tulsa and Cincinnati while netting a season-low four hits against Tulane … Opened campaign by averaging 10.8 tackles in the first four games against Knights, Panthers, Bulls and Midshipmen … Made 60 stops on rushes (83.3 percent), 12 on pass plays … Credited with a season-high 3.0 TFLs (-9 yards) at Raymond James Stadium against South Florida before adding 1.5 (-6) at Tulsa, 0.5 (-1) at Cincinnati, 2.0 (-3) at Temple and 1.0 (-11) vs. SMU in season finale at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Also batted down a season-best three passes against Golden Hurricane and had single deflections vs. UCF, Georgia State and Temple … Contributed a pair of QB pressures vs. Mustangs after forcing one hurry each against Tulsa and Tulane … Of his 72 overall tackles, 64 came during eight-game AAC slate … Responsible for a team-high 33 stops in four home matchups and ranked second in five road tilts with 39 hits (however, 7.0 of 8.0 TFLs and 5 of 6 PBUs came away from Greenville) … Averaged 9.6 tackles per game (48) during the first half of the campaign (5 contests) and 6.0 tpg (24) in the second portion (4 games) … Booked 9.0 tpg in three Pirate victories (7.5 in six setbacks) … Month-by-month totals include September (8/8.0 tpg), October (40/10.0) and November (24/6.0) …A 2020 Preseason All-AAC selection by Phil Steele (second-team) and Athlon Sports (third-team).

2019: Opened 11 of 12 contests as ECU’s top weakside linebacker and topped unit with 81 tackles … Was also team’s co-leader in solo hits with 40 … Booked multiple stops in every game, logging double-digit totals on two occasions (season-high 10 vs. Gardner-Webb & Temple) … Credited with five or more tackles 10 times … In addition to outings against Bulldogs and Owls, other notable efforts came against Cincinnati (8 tackles), Connecticut (8), NC State (7), USF (7), SMU (7, all solo), Navy (6), William & Mary (6) and UCF (5) … Also posted 2.5 TFLs for -4 yards (1.0/Old Dominion, 1.0/UConn, 0.5/UCF), a fumble recovery (Tulsa), a forced fumble (NC State), a quarterback pressure (UConn) and four pass breakups (2 vs. Gardner-Webb, 1 each vs. NC State and UCF) … Stood among the American Athletic Conference’s top 10 defenders with a 6.8 tackles-per-game average … Only non-start came in late October home matchup against USF … Established himself as the Pirates’ noted run-stopper, making 60 of 81 tackles on rushing plays (74.1%) … Was also ECU’s top special team’s performer with five stops, all coming on punt return coverage … Booked 55 tackles (6.9 per game) in eight AAC tilts and 26 (6.5) in four non-league contests … Averaged a team-best 7.5 stops in six home games (6.0 in six road outings) … Was a model of consistency throughout campaign, contributing 42 tackles (7.0) in first six games before adding 39 (6.5) in second half of year … Splits were identical in night contests (42) and day games (39) … Was ECU’s leading tackler in the months of September (25/6.3) and November (27/6/8) … Gained eight yards on a fumble return against the Golden Hurricanes to close out the season.

2018: Experienced action in 11 contests (DNP in opener vs. North Carolina A&T) during true freshman campaign … Started the final two games of the year (Cincinnati, NC State) at tight end … Was formally moved to the offensive two-deep after the start of the season by the previous coaching staff because of depth concerns … Initially earned dress-out designation as a top-tier special teams performer … After being used primarily as a blocker, played active role in the Pirates’ passing game during the final three games … Made a combined seven catches for 81 yards (11.6 ypr) in contests vs. Connecticut, Cincinnati and NC State … Top effort was a three-reception, 60-yard outing against the Huskies at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Also had a season-long 27-yard grab vs. UConn … Hauled in a pair of passes for 16 yards at Cincinnati before closing season with two more grabs (5 yards) at NC State … Credited with only tackle vs. the Wolfpack (on a fumble return) … Had one kickoff return for 0 yards (as an upback) against NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium … Officially enrolled early at ECU (January) and participated with the Pirates in spring drills, but did not experience any contact work because of an injury.

High School: Helped lead coach Tom Buzzo’s Brooke Point program on both sides of the ball, but turned in a pair of honors-producing campaigns as a middle linebacker on defense … Earned co-defensive player-of-the-year and first-team all-district accolades while guiding the Black Hawks to a runner-up finish in the Commonwealth District standings with a 4-2 league mark in 2017 … BPHS, which also posted a 10-3 overall record, advanced to the third round of the Group 5A playoffs … Offensively, contributed at the running back position … Made impressive varsity debut as a sophomore starter and played key role in Brooke Point’s 9-3 ledger and second-round state playoff appearance … Earned First-Team All-Conference 15 honors in 2015 … Was sidelined for a significant part of his junior season in 2016 … Picked up additional letters as a track standout, competing in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, as well as the shot put … Established personal bests of 15.47 seconds in the 110 hurdles, 43.21 in the 300 and 49 feet in the shot put … Officially committed to ECU on August 12, 2017 … Also considered offers from Charlotte, Connecticut, Marshall and Temple.

Personal: Full name is Xavier Smith … Son of Tasha Smith and Freddie Howard … Older brothers Damontay and Quentel (Smith) also played for Buzzo and the Black Hawks … Current major is marketing ... Named to the ECU Honor Roll (2018 spring semester) for academic excellence prior to his high school graduation (commencement) ceremony … Followed with a similar academic honor during the 2019 spring semester as a communication major ... Graduated in December 2021 with a degree in communication.