Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-24@ Troy | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 17-23vs Tulsa | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#29
Lyric Smith
Junior safety on Sam Houston's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 190 lb · Clarendon, TX · Clarendon HS
Returning to Sam Houston for 2026
The story
3 safety on Sam Houston's 2026 roster.
The record fills in as he plays.
His career, year by yearLyric Smith
This is his second year in the same secondary at Sam Houston. One game to point at: 3 tackles against Tulsa — Week 2, 2026.
3 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Sam Houston
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Phil Longo — 2-12 over that span.
2025Sam Houston2-10HC: Phil Longo · Balanced
2026Sam Houston0-2HC: Phil Longo · Pass-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: qb hurries (83rd percentile). 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 2 games: 1.5 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
Phil Longo
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sam Houston | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Sam Houston | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 8 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Sam Houston
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Sam Houston
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +5 net (20 in / 15 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Sam Houston · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #117 · 2026 recruiting class #126
Background
2025 Season Played in 11 games, primarily on special teams ... provided one of the biggest moments of the season when he blocked a punt at Oregon State (11/8) which was returned by teammate Brody Henderson for the game-winning score in the Kats' first victory of the season ... had 7 total tackles...
The secondary · Sam Houston
- #8Tyler Bailey45 tackles · 2025
- #20Dravon Wilson21 tackles · 2025
- #9Jace Arnold19 tackles · 2025
- #5Jalyn Stanford10 tackles · 2025
- #29Lyric Smith5 tackles · 2025
18 more on the roster · Sam Houston team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology