Members of the Inaugural TAJ-Talented 10th Black College All-American Team.
During the month of February, (Black History Month) one member of the All-American team will be featured on the UrbanmediaToday.com website daily. Today we put the spot light on:
Langston’s Michael Smith :
#37 Senior Defensive Back
6’3″ 220lbs
Compton, California
First Team All Central States Football League All Conference Team
First Team OklahomaSports.Net All-OSN Football Team
Finished with 42 Solo Tackles , 3 Interceptions and Six tackles for Loss
This past season Michael and defensive teammate Jamarae Finnie lead a Langston Lions defense that anchored a Langston team that captured the CSFL Title and a trip to the NAIA Playoffs. Smith finished second on the team in total tackles (56) behind Finnie (64). Jamarae Finnie is also a 2017 TAJT-10 Black College All-American and the duo helped coach Quinton Morgan’s Lions set school records finishing the regular season 10-0 and hosting a first round home playoff game in the NAIA Football Championship series for the first time in 44 years.
Smith made his presence known to Langston opponents early; in only the second game of the season he lead the Lions with a team high eight solo tackles in a 41-14 win over Lyon College. Michael turned defense into offense in the 34-0 win over Texas Wesleyan as the senior defesive back intercepted a pass and raced 48 yards to the end zone to help LU secure their fourth win of the season.
Later in the season the Lions would meet the Lane Dragons and came up with a 6 point win 27-21 and in that game Smith was one of four Lions to finish with seven tackles in the defeat of the SIAC opponent. As the season continued so did the Lions winning ways as smith who averaged 4 tackles per game was a major part of a defense that Ranked number four in NAIA Division one in total defense (279 yards per game ) and in scoring defense (17 points per game). The 6’3″ Senior Defensive back was a major part of the Lions secondary that lead the division with a 95.2 % Pass Defense Efficiency.
