Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 13 | L 10-27@ Wisconsin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#48
Carter Smith
Sophomore linebacker for Illinois. 2025: 1 game with a box-score line.
6′3″ · 240 lb · Rolling Meadows, IL · Fremd
Returning to Illinois for 2026
The numbers
1
tackle · 2025
1 game into 2025 so far -- Best game: 1 tackles, at Wisconsin
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 linebacker for Illinois. 2025: 1 game with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Illinois in 2023.
Carter Smith didn't allow a sack. He became the first Indiana player ever named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, and PFF rates him the No. 1 returning tackle in the country. He gave up a Day 2 draft slot to run it back.
Smith's 2025 was as clean as it gets at left tackle: zero sacks allowed in the regular season, an 88.8 PFF grade across 372 pass-blocking snaps, and the first Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year award in Indiana history. PFF now ranks him the No. 1 returning offensive tackle in the country. A four-year starter, he passed up a projected Day 2 draft slot to take his final year. The forward stakes are a program's ceiling: Indiana's Playoff push runs through a blindside that, with Smith on it, is among the most secure in the sport. The most accomplished returning tackle in college football headlines a Hoosier line built to contend.
How he plays
Smith is a pass-protection technician first — the cleanest profile a tackle can have. The numbers are the argument: zero sacks allowed and an 88.8 PFF grade over nearly 400 pass-blocking snaps, the kind of season that doesn't happen by accident. He's a four-year starter with the footwork and anchor to handle Big Ten edge speed and power, and PFF's No. 1 returning-tackle ranking reflects a player without an obvious hole. The blindside is the most important real estate on an offense, and Smith makes it a non-issue — which is exactly why a Playoff-hopeful line is built around him.
His career
2023
- Signed with Illinois3-star out of Ocoee
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Illinois
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Illinois9-4HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
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 & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Illinois | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Illinois
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Illinois
Returning around him
- 3 Illinois players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -7 net (20 in / 27 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Illinois · Last season: 9-4 (AP #23) · Talent rank #51 · 2026 recruiting class #24
Background
2025 - Illinois Did not play in a game Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Academic All-Big Ten 2024 - Illinois Did not play in a game and redshirted the season High School Played for head coach Lou Sponsel at Fremd One-year letterwinner 2022 All-MSL West Conference Compiled 97 tackles, 10 sacks, and t...
The linebacker corps · Illinois
- #45Robert Edmonson47 tackles · 2025
- #24William Holmes45 tackles · 2025
- #10James Kreutz30 tackles · 2025
- #4Daniel Brown11 tackles · 2025
- #48Carter Smith1 tackle · 2025
10 more on the roster · Illinois team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology