Damonte Smith is a nose tackle who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Middle Tennessee.
Smith wins the gap play after play. Played for two head coaches at Middle Tennessee: Rick Stockstill and Derek Mason. The first career honor came in 2025: All-Conference USA. A game that shows it: 5 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Delaware — Week 9, 2025.
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
33 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 11 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Middle Tennessee | 33 | 21 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 25 | 10 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Middle Tennessee | 7 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Middle Tennessee | 13 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 78 | 38 | 17.0 | 5.0 | 4 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-34vs Austin Peay | 5 | 3 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | L 10-42@ Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 14-13@ Nevada | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 28-42vs Marshall | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 16-24@ Kennesaw State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 20-22vs Missouri State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | L 28-31@ Delaware | 5 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 30-56vs Florida International | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 26-42@ Western Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 31-17vs Sam Houston | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 31-24@ New Mexico State | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 21 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
33%11 TFLSack rate
9%3 sacksHurry rate
12%4 hurries33 tackles · 11 for loss · 3 sacks · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Road6g | 2.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Pass share
61.3%
495 pass / 313 run
Plays / game
67.3
12 games
Team sack rate
5.9%
547 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
The All-Conference 1st team honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #9 of 330 FBS interior linemen by CFB Zeitgeist Score.2025 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Unranked recruit. Now #9 at the position.
Recruited without a star rating, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA · 1ST TEAM
All-Conference USA 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Rick Stockstill → Derek Mason. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
