Ainias Smith
Ainias Smith is an American professional football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies.
Early life
Smith grew up in Missouri City, Texas and attended John Foster Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas. In his high school career, he was a starter at wide receiver, running back, cornerback, and occasionally free safety. As a senior, he rushed for 481 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 55 passes for 717 yards and 10 touchdowns. Smith committed to play college football at Texas A&M over Duke.College career
As a freshman, Smith played mostly wide receiver and served as the team's primary return specialist and had 22 receptions for 248 yards and three touchdowns. He played running back in the 2019 Texas Bowl and rushed for 54 yards on seven carries in a 24-21 win over Oklahoma State. Smith was moved to running back before the start of his sophomore season, while remaining a flex option at wide receiver. He finished the season with 293 yards and four touchdowns on 49 carries and also caught 43 passes for a team-leading 564 receiving yards with six touchdown receptions.Smith was named to the watchlist for the Hornung Award going into his junior season. That season, he was selected as a team captain and returned to a primarily wide receiver role, leading the team in receptions. In a win over #1 ranked Alabama, he recorded six receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
He was briefly suspended by the team in July 2022 due to a DWI arrest, but was reinstated after the charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence. After starting the first four games of his senior season, he suffered a leg injury that ended his season. Smith was granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the injury, qualifying as a medical redshirt.
On September 20, 2023, he earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after returning a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and recording a career-high 202 all-purpose yards against Arkansas, the team he was injured against the year prior. He ended his fifth year leading the Aggies in all-purpose yards, receiving yards, and punt return yards, earning him [2023 All-SEC American football|football team|first team All-SEC] honors.
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
Smith was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 152nd pick in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft. He was placed on injured reserve on August 27, 2024. Smith was activated on October 26. Smith made his debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars; he caught one pass for no gain and rushed once for two yards. On January 5, 2025, in a Week 18 matchup against the New York Giants, Smith caught the first touchdown of his NFL career on a pass from quarterback Tanner McKee. He won a Super Bowl championship when the Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40–22 in Super Bowl LIX.On August 26, 2025, Smith was waived by the Eagles as part of final roster cuts.