Dalvin Smith

#17 · WR · Sr. · Western Kentucky6′2″ · 188 lb · Glasgow, KY

Dalvin Smith: WR · Western Kentucky · #17.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Jaylen JohnsonEast Carolina · 2022 · 87% season match
Robert WilliamsLouisiana · 2023 · 86% season match
Stephon Johnson Jr.Houston · 2023 · 86% season match
Isaiah EppsTulsa · 2022 · 85% season match
Louis BrownColorado State · 2023 · 83% season match

Dalvin Smith

WR · Western Kentucky · Sr · #17

Moves the chains on third down. Fifth year in the Western Kentucky receiving corps. A game that shows it: 76 receiving yards and 2 receptions against James Madison — Bowl, 2024.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2024	Western Kentucky	30	397	13.2	4	65
2023	Western Kentucky	50	513	10.3	6	45
2022	Western Kentucky	35	443	12.7	4	47
2021	Western Kentucky	11	151	13.7	5	33
2020	Western Kentucky	4	58	14.5	2	26
Career		130	1,562	12.0	21	65

Season	Team
2024	Western Kentucky	1	−11
2023	Western Kentucky	1	25
2022	Western Kentucky	--	--
2021	Western Kentucky	--	--
2020	Western Kentucky	--	--
Career		2	14

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Wk 1	L 0-63@ No. 5 Alabama	2	4	2.0	0	2
Wk 2	W 31-0vs Eastern Kentucky	4	34	8.5	1	12
Wk 3	W 49-21@ Middle Tennessee	1	37	37.0	0	37
Wk 4	W 26-21vs Toledo	2	18	9.0	0	11
Wk 5	L 20-21@ Boston College	3	30	10.0	0	17
Wk 7	W 44-17vs UTEP	2	39	19.5	1	30
Wk 8	W 31-14@ Sam Houston	3	28	9.3	0	10
Wk 10	W 31-14vs Kennesaw State	3	25	8.3	0	10
Wk 11	W 41-28@ New Mexico State	2	14	7.0	0	7
Wk 12	L 7-12vs Louisiana Tech	1	14	14.0	0	14
Wk 13	L 21-38@ Liberty	4	63	15.8	1	38
Wk 14	W 19-17vs Jacksonville State	1	15	15.0	0	15
Bowl	L 17-27vs James Madison	2	76	38.0	1	65
Total		30	397	13.2	4	65

Signature game

Bowl · 2024

L 17-27

vs James Madison · neutral site

2 rec · 76 yds · 1 TD

With C. Veltkamp — 302 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 76.5 · C. Maynard — 41.8 yards per punt · 5 punts · 1 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 1 · James Madison · 3rd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +4.92Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 65 yds to the JMU 4 for a
Week 11 · New Mexico State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.92Dalvin Smith pass complete to Kisean Johnson for 51 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 7 · UTEP · 3rd and 8 · Q1 · EPA +3.92Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 30 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 1 · James Madison · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA −3.24Dalvin Smith run for a loss of 11 yards to the WKU 40 Dalvin Smith fumbled, recovered by JMU Gannon Weathersby
Week 2 · Eastern Kentucky · 3rd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.14TJ Finley pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 12 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 1 · James Madison · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.11Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 11 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)

4 more plays

Week 3 · Middle Tennessee · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +3.01Dalvin Smith pass complete to Kisean Johnson for 36 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 13 · Liberty · 2nd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +2.90Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 38 yds to the LIB 23 for a
Week 13 · Liberty · 2nd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +2.56Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 9 yds for a TD (Lucas Carneiro KICK)
Week 3 · Middle Tennessee · 3rd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +2.54Caden Veltkamp pass complete to Dalvin Smith for 37 yds to the WKU 40 for a

Teams and coaches

5 seasons under Tyson Helton — 39-28 over that span.

2020Western Kentucky5-7HC: Tyson Helton · Balanced

2021Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-heavy, fast tempo

2022Western Kentucky9-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-leaning

2023Western Kentucky8-5HC: Tyson Helton · Pass-leaning

2024Western Kentucky8-6HC: Tyson Helton · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 41 (#266 of 466). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2024 season

41Rotational starter #266 of 466 · 2024?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2024 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: td rate (82nd percentile). Concern: catch rate (18th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#111 / 610 · 82nd pct

10.8%

Yards / catch#204 / 610 · 67th pct

13.2

EPA / target#286 / 610 · 53rd pct

0.90

Explosive rate#427 / 610 · 30th pct

10.8%

Catch rate#503 / 610 · 18th pct

81.1%

Box-score rates (8)

Long catch#117 / 541 · 78th pct

Rec TDs#140 / 541 · 69th pct

Yards / catch#258 / 541 · 52nd pct

13.2

Rec yards#271 / 541 · 50th pct

397

Receptions#268 / 541 · 50th pct

Rush TDs#55 / 299 · 41st pct

Fumbles lost#90 / 221 · 36th pct

Rush yards#298 / 299 · 1st pct

-11

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

39th → 53rd percentile

Explosive rate

18th → 30th percentile

Catch rate

29th → 18th percentile

TD rate

50th → 82nd percentile

Yards / catch

34th → 67th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2024. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2024 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	2.2	24.2	12.4	0.3
Road6g	2.5	29.3	13.5	0.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	2.3	34.0	17.7	0.4
Weeks 8+6g	2.3	26.5	11.6	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2024 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

Pass share

52.2%

469 pass / 430 run

Plays / game

64.2

14 games

Team sack rate

5.3%

506 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

30 catches, 4 pass attempts and 1 carry in 13 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

41 · #266 of 466 WRs · 2024

Three-star recruit. Now #266 at the position.

Dalvin Smith

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

30 catches, 4 pass attempts and 1 carry in 13 games

Six seasons at Western Kentucky

2019