Donovan Smith
Donovan Smith
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up. Donovan Smith has played for three head coaches across four seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 260 pass yds, 1 pass TD against Oklahoma — Week 2, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
How it ended
Four seasons at Houston, 6,354 passing yards — drafted at #34 overall by Tampa Bay.
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2024
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Dana Holgorsen.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Tampa BayEntering 12th NFL season
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Fritz
Career stats
| Season | Team | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Houston | 87 | 133 | 65.4% | 867 | 6.5 | 4 | 8 | 118.1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Houston | 255 | 396 | 64.4% | 2,800 | 7.1 | 22 | 13 | 135.6 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Texas Tech | 147 | 222 | 66.2% | 1,506 | 6.8 | 12 | 8 | 133.8 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Texas Tech | 85 | 139 | 61.2% | 1,181 | 8.5 | 7 | 2 | 146.3 | -- | -- |
| Career | 574 | 890 | 64.5% | 6,354 | 7.1 | 45 | 31 | 134.2 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Houston | 66 | 159 | 2.4 | 3 | -- |
| 2023 | Houston | 138 | 429 | 3.1 | 6 | -- |
| 2022 | Texas Tech | 75 | 113 | 1.5 | 7 | -- |
| 2021 | Texas Tech | 56 | 155 | 2.8 | 3 | -- |
| Career | 335 | 856 | 2.6 | 19 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2024
W 24–19
vs Kansas State
2 CAR · 1 TD · 1 LONG
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 at home.
How he plays
Play style
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Scrambler
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Donovan Smith’s 2022 season.
Matches Donovan on
Differs from Donovan on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Zac Thomas’s path through App State.
Zac Thomas
Matches Zac on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Tyler Shough's senior season at Texas Tech (2023).
Differs from Tyler on
Player DNA
Players who play like Donovan Smith
Development
Development Trajectory · passing yards
2021–2024-27%
Sharp dropoff (-27%) — career inflection point.