2015 Football Roster
Roster
Maurice Smitherman
- Position:
- DB
- Height:
- 5-9
- Weight:
- 178
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Adamsville, AL
- High School/Previous School:
- Minor HS
CAREER: Quick, talented defensive back that was a major contributor for four seasons … Also saw action on special teams coverage … Appeared in 42 games with eight starts … Was a primary starter at cornerback as a senior (six games) before his season was cut short due to an injury prior to the seventh game … Finished career with 48 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and one forced fumble … Graduated from MSU in December 2019 with a degree in human development and family sciences.
2019 SENIOR SEASON: Started the first six games at cornerback before an injury in practice sidelined him for the rest of the year … Recorded 14 tackles and one quarterback hurry … Equaled a career high in tackles with five at Tennessee (10/12).
2018 JUNIOR SEASON: Part of a cornerback unit that did not allow a touchdown during the regular season … Appeared in all 13 games and earned two starts in place of an injured Jamal Peters … Finished the season with a career-high 23 tackles … Added one forced fumble, one interception and three passes defended … Held a 49.1 passer rating allowed, according to Pro Football Focus … Was targeted 24 times and gave up only 12 receptions … Only missed one tackle this season … Earned an overall defensive grade of 77.9 from PFF … Recorded two solo stops at Kansas State (9/8) and broke up the first pass of his career … Earned his first collegiate start vs. Florida (9/29) … Collected a career-high five tackles at No. 5 LSU (10/20) … Grabbed two tackles and forced the first fumble of his career vs. Arkansas (11/17) … Collected two tackles and made an incredible athletic interception in the end zone to steal a touchdown at Ole Miss (11/22) … The pick was the second of his career and his first since the 2016 season.
2017 SOPHOMORE SEASON: Appeared in all 13 games in 2017, seeing most of his action on special teams … Recorded a career-high two tackles vs. Kentucky (10/21) … Also recorded tackles vs. Charleston Southern (9/2), at Auburn (9/30), vs. BYU (10/14) and vs. Louisville (12/30).
2016 REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON: Played in 10 games at corner … Tallied five total tackles as well as one interception … Recorded first tackle of career at LSU (9/17) … Also recorded a tackle vs. Auburn (10/8), at Kentucky (10/22), vs. Samford (10/29) and at Ole Miss (11/26) … Intercepted first pass of career against Samford (10/29), returning it 29 yards before being brought down.
2015 TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON: Redshirted during initial year with the program.
HIGH SCHOOL: Rated a three-star recruit by ESPN.com, Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports … 247Sports had him as the No. 13 prospect in Alabama and ESPN.com and the No. 47 corner in his class … Scout.com had him as the No. 23 recruit in the state … Compiled 98 total tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss in 25 games over the past three seasons … Grabbed five interceptions for 80 return yards and 16 pass deflections, along with one field goal block … Also returned kickoffs and punts … Amassed 291 kick return yards on 11 attempts with a long of 99 with a touchdown … Returned eight punts for 180 yards … Coached by George Bates … Committed to Mississippi State in June 2014.
PERSONAL: Born Maurice Smitherman on Dec. 5, 1996 … Son of Latashio Wagner … Twitter handle is @Smitherman_Era.
SMITHERMAN’S CAREER HIGHS:
Tackles: 5, (twice), last at Tennessee (10-12-19)
Pass Breakups: 1, (3x), last at LSU (10-20-18)
Interceptions: 1, (twice), last at Ole Miss (11-22-18)
Fumbles Forced: 1, vs. Arkansas (11-17-18)
