Clayton Smith
Clayton Smith
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Three head coaches in five seasons, at two different programs. One game to point at: 6 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Northern Arizona — Week 1, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Herm Edwards → Kenny Dillingham. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kenny Dillingham
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 1 · 2-deepR04 · Rotational
Rotational. Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Arizona State | 19 | 11 | 6.5 | 4.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Arizona State | 33 | 16 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 4 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Arizona State | 21 | 9 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Oklahoma | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Oklahoma | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 81 | 40 | 19.5 | 11.0 | 5 | -- | -- |
How he plays
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Arizona State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Arizona State
Returning around him
- 4 Arizona State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +3 net (24 in / 21 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Arizona State · Last season: 8-5 (AP #24) · Talent rank #33 · 2026 recruiting class #40
DNA match
Player DNA
3-Tech Penetrator
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Beau Atkinson’s 2024 season.
Matches Beau on
Differs from Beau on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Tramel Logan Jr.'s graduate season at Louisville (2024).
Matches Tramel on