Former inside linebacker at USC. 2018: 69 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
6′2″ · 250 lb · Roseville, CA
Recruiting
ILB recruit
No. 187 nationally · Signed with USC
Statement game16 tackles · 0.5 TFLvs Utah (FBS) · W 28-27
Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former inside linebacker at USC. 2018: 69 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Cameron Smith
This is his fourth year in the same linebacker corps at USC. One game to point at: 15 tackles, 2 TFL against Washington State — Week 4, 2018.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at USC, 259 tackles — drafted at #162 overall by Minnesota.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Clay Helton.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
MinnesotaEntering 8th NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
4 seasons under Clay Helton, all balanced offenses — 34-19 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: solo tackles (95th percentile). Strength: tackles (89th percentile). Concern: qb hurries (27th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 11.3 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Road4g | 8.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 9.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 11.0 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
46.0%
97 pass / 114 run
Plays / game
70.3
3 games
Team sack rate
2.0%
102 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2018
Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2018
W 39–36
15 TOT · 12 SOLO · 2 TFL
Edged out Washington State at home in a shootout.
With R. Budrovich — 39 AVG · 50 LONG · 5 NO · V. Jones Jr. — 2 rec · 48 yds
Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 43-21vs UNLV | 7 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | L 3-17@ Stanford | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 14-37@ Texas | 9 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 39-36vs Washington State | 15 | 12 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 15 tackles |
| Wk 5 | W 24-20@ Arizona | 7 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 27-34@ UCLA | 10 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-24vs Notre Dame | 12 | 9 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 69 | 51 | 7.5 | 1.0 | — | 3 |