Naeem Smith: S · Rice · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Naeem Smith
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Arrived as a two-star recruit; three seasons of production at Rice since. First career honor, 2021: All-Conference USA. On tape: 8 tackles against Texas, Week 3, 2021.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
64 tackles. 5 passes defended. 4 interceptions. 1.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 17-38@ Arkansas | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 7-44vs Houston | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | L 0-58@ Texas | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 48-34vs Texas Southern | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-19vs Southern Miss | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 0-45@ UTSA | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 30-24@ UAB | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-30vs North Texas | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 24-31@ Charlotte | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-42vs Western Kentucky | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 28-38@ UTEP | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 35-31vs Louisiana Tech | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 64 | 32 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 5 |
Week 8 · 2021
W 30-24
at UAB
1 interception · 1 sack · 1 tackle for loss
A close one, won by 6 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
8%5 pass breakupsInterceptions
4interceptionsTackle volume
64tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%2 TFL64 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 1 sack · 5 pass breakups · 4 interceptions.
3 seasons under Mike Bloomgren — 9-20 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road6g | 5.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Bloomgren
Pass share
42.0%
343 pass / 473 run
Plays / game
68.0
12 games
Team sack rate
8.2%
377 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2021
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #273 at the position.
How it ended
Three seasons at Rice, 118 tackles — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA
All-Conference USA mention (2021)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: David Bailiff → Mike Bloomgren. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
