#25

Josh Smith

Senior linebacker for Vanderbilt. 2018: 61 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks.

LB · Vanderbilt · Sr. · #25

6′4″ · 240 lb · Murfreesboro, TN

Vanderbilt 2018 alumnus

Recruiting

4★

ILB recruit

No. 141 nationally · Signed with Vanderbilt

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Vanderbilt. 2018: 61 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Vanderbilt in 2015.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Vanderbilt, 85 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

2015

Signed with Vanderbilt4-star out of Oakland

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★

#141 national

CFB

College

Vanderbilt

2016–2018

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2016–2018

1 coach

2016–2018

Derek Mason

Vanderbilt

Played his entire career under Derek Mason.

2018 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Derek Mason — 17-21 over that span.

2016Vanderbilt6-7HC: Derek Mason · Run-leaning

2017Vanderbilt5-7HC: Derek Mason · Balanced, slow tempo

2018Vanderbilt6-7HC: Derek Mason · Balanced

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (92nd percentile). Strength: qb hurries (91st percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Tackles for loss#201 / 2662 · 92nd pct

9.0

QB hurries#184 / 2662 · 91st pct

Sacks#255 / 2662 · 89th pct

3.5

Tackles#408 / 2662 · 84th pct

Solo tackles#446 / 2662 · 83rd pct

Passes defended#519 / 2662 · 76th pct

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

2018 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	5.1	0.9	0.3	0.4
Road5g	5.0	0.6	0.3	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	6.1	0.9	0.2	0.1
Weeks 8+5g	3.6	0.5	0.4	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Clark Lea

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2018

Part-time starter

Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2018	Vanderbilt	61	35	9.0	3.5	3	--	--
2017	Vanderbilt	21	11	4.0	2.0	--	--	--
2016	Vanderbilt	3	2	0.5	0.5	1	--	--
Career		85	48	13.5	6.0	4	--	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2018 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 35-7vs Middle Tennessee	4	4	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 41-10vs Nevada	10	8	3.0	0.0	—	1	Season-high 10 tackles
Wk 3	L 17-22@ Notre Dame	7	3	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	L 14-37vs South Carolina	8	4	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 13-41@ Georgia	4	1	0.5	0.5	—	0
Wk 7	L 27-37vs Florida	7	2	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 8	L 7-14@ Kentucky	6	2	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 9	W 45-31@ Arkansas	3	2	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	L 28-33@ Missouri	5	5	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 12	W 36-29vs Ole Miss	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 38-13vs Tennessee	3	1	1.0	1.0	—	2
Bowl	L 38-45vs Baylor	3	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		61	35	9.0	3.5	—	3

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology