Rickey Smith
Rickey Smith
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Three seasons at Middle Tennessee, two different head coaches: Rick Stockstill and Derek Mason. The receipt on tape: 2 tackles against Wisconsin, Week 2, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Rick Stockstill → Derek Mason. 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
Derek Mason
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 | Middle Tennessee | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Middle Tennessee | 24 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Middle Tennessee | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 35 | 16 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2025
W 14–13
at Nevada
1 TOT · 1 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 1 on the road.
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Middle Tennessee
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Middle Tennessee
Returning around him
- 1 Middle Tennessee player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +1 net (19 in / 18 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Middle Tennessee · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #110 · 2026 recruiting class #119
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Jer'Marius Lewis’s 2022 season.
Matches Jer'Marius on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Jadarius Green-McKnight's sophomore season at Marshall (2022).
Matches Jadarius on