Biography
CAREER
Emerged as Columbia’s deep threat at the tail end of his first season with the Lions … Has played in 23 career games with 18 starts at wide receiver … In four-year career, made 103 receptions for 1,381 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving … Ranks among Columbia career receiving leaders in a variety of statistical categories including receiving yards (No. 12, 1,381), receptions (No. 14, 103), touchdown receptions (No. 8, 11), receptions per game (No. 7, 4.50), most games with a reception (No. 5, 22) and highest touchdown: reception ratio (No. 5, 0.11) … Totaled two double digit catch games, one 200-yard receiving game, five 100-yard receiving games and three multi-touchdown games in his career … Has set school records for two statistical categories: most single-game receiving yards in a game (236-yard, 10-catch performance at Princeton in 2017) and most average yards per reception in a game (23.6 at Princeton, 2017) … Averages 13.4 yards per reception and 60.0 receiving yards per game on career … Third-fastest player in school-history to reach 1,000-yards receiving (16 games 73 receptions) … Became the 26th player in school history to surpass 1,000-career receiving yards … Four-year letterman.
2019
Saw action and started three games as a senior wide receiver … Missed the season’s last seven games with a season-ending injury … Earned preseason First Team All-Ivy League honors by Phil Steele Magazine … Concluded the year with 15 catches for 203 yards and one touchdown with a long reception of 61 yards … Ranked No. 4 on the team in both receptions and receiving yards and No. 5 on squad in all-purpose yards (203, 67.7 yards per game) … Caught a season-high eight passes for 87 yards and a 24-yard touchdown at Princeton (Oct. 5) … Finished with three receptions for 36 yards vs. Georgetown (Sept. 28) … Caught season-long 61-yard pass from Ty Lenhart, made four receptions for 80 yards in season opener at Saint Francis, Pa. (Sept. 21).
2018
Third Team All-Ivy League selection by Phil Steele Magazine … Played in eight games with six starts as a junior wide receiver … Missed several games with injuries … Finished season with 36 receptions for 399 yards and two touchdowns with a long of 48 yards and an 11.1 average yards per catch and rushed for 16 yards on two carries in 2018 … Among Ivy League leaders, ranked No. 6 in receptions per game (4.5 catches per game) and No. 7 in receiving yards per game (49.9) … Ranked second on the squad in receptions (36), receiving yards (399) and fourth in all-purpose yards (415) … Two 100-yard receiving games … Caught at least one pass in all eight games played … Caught three passes for 37 yards with long of 21 in season finale vs. Cornell (Nov. 17) … Caught a season-high nine passes for 112 yards with long of 48 at Brown (Nov. 10) … Missed the Dartmouth (Oct. 20) and Yale (Oct. 27) games with injury … Caught four passes for 26 yards, rushed two times for 16 yards vs. Marist (Oct. 6) … Against Marist, surpassed 1,000-career yards and became the third fastest player in school history surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark (16 games) … Made seven receptions for 62 yards vs. Princeton (Sept. 28) … Finished with eight receptions for 118 yards with a long of 48 yards and a touchdown (14-yard TD) at Georgetown (Sept. 22) … Caught touchdown pass (19-yarder), two passes for 26 yards in season opener at Central Connecticut State (Sept. 15) … Preseason All-Ivy League Second Team selection by Phil Steele Magazine.
2017
Honorable Mention All-Ivy League selection by league coaches despite playing in just seven games on year … Played in seven games with seven starts as a sophomore wide receiver … Missed three games (at Dartmouth, at Yale, Harvard) due to injury … Ranked second on the squad in receptions (31), receiving yards (437) and touchdowns receiving (four) … Led the Lions in yards per catch (14.1) and averaged 62.4 yards receiving per game … Registered two multi-touchdown games and one 200-yard receiving game on season … Caught three passes for 12 yards in his return game at Cornell (Nov. 11) … Suffered injury, caught one pass for seven yards vs. Penn (Oct. 14) … Caught five passes for 35 yards at Marist (Oct. 7) … Named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 2 and earned CFPA FCS National Player of the Week/College Sports Madness honorable mention honors after he scored the game-winning touchdown on a 63-yard reception and set the school’s single-game receiving yards record and stadium record with 236 yards on 10 receptions with two touchdowns at Princeton (Sept. 30) … The 236-yard game ranks No. 11 among single-game totals in Ivy League history and marked the fourth highest total in FCS up to that point … He broke Columbia’s previous single-game record of 214 yards set by Bill Wazevich vs. Princeton on October 7, 1967 … Also caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Anders Hill in the first quarter … Scored two receiving touchdowns (18 and nine yards) and caught seven passes for 66 yards vs. Georgetown (Sept. 23) … Caught four passes for 74 yards with a long of 32 yards in season opener vs. Wagner (Sept. 16).
2016
Saw action in seven games with starts in the season’s final two games as a first-year wide receiver … Also contributed on special teams … Emerged mid-season as a deep threat wide receiver … Led Lions in yards receiving per game (68.4) and yards per reception (16.3 yards per catch) while making 21 receptions for 342 yards with four touchdowns in only five games … Ranked second on the team in touchdown receptions (four) and third in receiving yards and fourth in receptions … Registered two 100-yard receiving games and one multi-touchdown game … Caught one pass for 11 yards at Brown (Nov. 19) … Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on November 14 following his 11-catch, 195-yard performance vs. Cornell … Set career-highs for receptions (11), receiving yards (195) and long reception (44-yarder) and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of first career start vs. Cornell (Nov. 12) … His 195 yards receiving were the most totaled at Columbia since Terry Brown finished with 207 yards vs. Cornell on Nov. 12, 1988 … The 195 yards rank as the fifth-best performance in school history and the last time a Columbia player finished with more than 195 yards receiving in a game was on Nov. 12, 2011 when Kurt Williams finished with 191 yards vs. Cornell … Caught two passes for 14 yards a touchdown at Harvard (Nov. 5) … Caught six passes for 114 yards and a career-high two touchdowns (28-yarder and 6-yarder, both in the fourth quarter), including a then-career-long 39-yard catch vs. Yale (Oct. 28) … With his two touchdowns, became the first player at Columbia to register two receiving touchdowns in a game since Nov. 10, 2012 when Chris Connors caught two against Cornell … Blocked punt at Penn (Oct. 15) … Saw first career action and caught first career pass for eight yards vs. Princeton (Oct. 1).
HIGH SCHOOL
A 2016 graduate of John Burroughs High School in St. Louis, Mo., where he played three years of varsity football for head coach John Merritt … Two-time Missouri Football Coaches Association All-State selection as a defensive back … Two-time AP All-State First Team selection … Two-time First Team All-Region selection … St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro selection … Three-time All-Metro League selection and two-time First Team All-Conference pick … Named St. Louis Small Schools Player of the Year after his senior year … Scored 18 touchdowns on offense, including 15 touchdown receptions, caught 38 passes for 562 yards on offense, while registering 92 tackles and seven interceptions on defense in his senior season … Guided the Bombers to three sectional titles, two regional titles and the 2015 Class 3 state championship … Bombers won a 30-6 victory over Odessa in the Missouri Class 3 state title game played at the Edward Jones Dome … In 15 games as a junior, caught 22 passes for 471 yards (21.4 yards per catch) and 10 touchdowns, totaled 220 punt return yards and made 97 total tackles (71 solo), intercepted four passes and registered four defensive touchdowns as a junior … Returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown … Led Bombers to a state runner-up finish, 13-2 overall and 4-1 Metro League record as a junior … Also competed in basketball and track and field … Two-time all-district basketball player … Two-time All-Metro League basketball player … Won state title in the 110-meter hurdles and earned four medals overall in the Class 3 state championships (3rd place finish in the long jump and triple jump and 8th place finish in the 300-meter hurdles) as a senior … State runner-up in the triple jump … Set school record in the 100-meter hurdles (36-inch) at 15.35 and 300-meter hurdles (33-inch) at 41.43, long jump (22-6 ¾) and triple jump (45-10 ½) … Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliot owns the sprint hurdles records at the higher heights … Led Bombers to the 2016 track and field state title … Earned St. Louis Post-Dispatch Athlete of the Week award after he won four events at the Skippy Keefer Relays: triple jump, 300-hurdles, 110 hurdles and 1,600-meter relay … As a junior in the Class 3 state meet, finished second in the triple jump and 110 hurdles and fourth in the 300 hurdles in sectional competition … Earned the ISACS Math Award.
PERSONAL
Born Ronald Lenell Smith on November 1, 1997 … Son of Ronald and Kendral Smith of Florissant, Mo. … Enrolled in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science … Majors in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.
