Sterling Smithson is a defensive lineman who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Missouri State.
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move. A game that shows it: 4 tackles against Liberty — Week 11, 2025.
Play style
The heaviest frame on the interior. Sack production is intentionally not the point of this profile.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
22 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1 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.
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| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Missouri State | 22 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 22 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-73@ USC | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 21-20@ Marshall | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-28vs SMU | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 42-10vs UT Martin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 22-27vs Western Kentucky | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 22-20@ Middle Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 24-17@ New Mexico State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 21-17@ Liberty | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 12 | W 38-24vs UTEP | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 34-41@ Kennesaw State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 30-42vs Louisiana Tech | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 28-34vs Arkansas State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
5%1 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksHurry rate
0%0 hurries22 tackles · 1 for loss.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Nick Petrino
Pass share
51.9%
433 pass / 401 run
Plays / game
64.2
13 games
Team sack rate
8.7%
458 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Conference USA
Based on 2025: #35 of 45 Conference USA DLs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
