Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-56@ Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 41-17vs Stony Brook | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#1
Sterling Smith
Junior defensive back on Ball State's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 201 lb · Indianapolis, IN · Cathedral HS
In transfer portal — destination TBD (from Purdue)
Recruiting
2★
CB recruit
No. 2811 nationally · Signed with Holy Cross
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 defensive back on Ball State's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 2-star recruit to Holy Cross in 2023.
Sterling Smith
Two head coaches in two seasons, at two different programs. The receipt: 5 tackles against Ohio State — Week 1, 2026.
9 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Holy Cross2-star out of Cathedral
2024
- Entered the portal
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
In Portal · 2026
In transfer portal
2025Purdue
DestinationTBD
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Purdue2-10HC: Barry Odom · Balanced
2026Ball State1-1HC: Mike Uremovich · Pass-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
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: 4.5 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
Mike Uremovich
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 | Ball State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Purdue | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 12 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 41–17
vs Stony Brook
Game log
Background
Former Indianapolis Cathedral High School standout arrives at Ball State following a freshman year at Holy Cross and the past two years at Purdue … appeared in all 12 games for the Boilermakers last season, with his lone tackle coming at Washington … earned a redshirt in 2024 with Purdue … starte...
The secondary · Ball State
- #4Willizhuan Yates32 tackles · 2025
- Derek Fields Jr.31 tackles · 2025
- #2Tobi Adewoyin14 tackles · 2025
- #12Deondre Shepherd13 tackles · 2025
- #1Sterling Smith3 tackles · 2025
19 more on the roster · Ball State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology