Chau Smith-Wade: DB · Washington State · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Chau Smith-Wade
Erases the deep middle of the field. Played for two head coaches in four seasons at Washington State. One game to point at: 7 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Oregon State — Week 4, 2023.
Play style
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Washington State | 35 | 22 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 6 | -- |
| 2022 | Washington State | 43 | 31 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 |
| 2021 | Washington State | 17 | 10 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020 | Washington State | 8 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 103 | 70 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 17 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 7 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 50-24@ Colorado State | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 31-22vs No. 19 Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 64-21vs Northern Colorado | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-35vs No. 14 Oregon State | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-25@ UCLA | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | L 6-44vs Arizona | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-38@ No. 9 Oregon | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 35 | 22 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 6 |
Week 4 · 2023
W 38-35
vs Oregon State
1 tackle for loss · 7 tackles · 3 solo tackles
Edged out Oregon State at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
17%6 pass breakupsTackle volume
35tackles this seasonTFL rate
6%2 TFL35 tackles · 2 for loss · 6 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 5.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 5.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
60.5%
511 pass / 333 run
Plays / game
70.3
12 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
552 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
How it ended
Four seasons at Washington State, 103 tackles — drafted at #157 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
A stat line in 29 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Nick Rolovich → Jake Dickert. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Carolina PanthersEntering 3rd NFL season
Carolina PanthersEntering 3rd NFL season
