Jeff Smoker
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| Jeff Smoker | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 13, 1981 |
| Place of birth | Manheim, Pennsylvania |
| Position(s) | QB |
| College | Michigan State |
| NFL Draft | 2004 / Round 6 (201st overall) |
| Team(s) | |
| 2004–2006 | St. Louis Rams; Philadelphia Eagles; Kansas City Chiefs |
Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football League's St. Louis Rams from 2004 to 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Professional Career
Jeff Smoker has not played in any regular season games during his professional career, as he has not had an opportunity to be promoted to starting quarterback due to the Ram's starting needs being filled by Marc Bulger.
Smoker made the Rams' roster in his rookie year as the team's third quarterback. In his second year he was beaten out of that position by former Harvard University quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick and was cut from the Rams at the end of the 2005 preseason training camp. He spent the 2005 season on the club's practice squad and roster due to injuries to the Ram's starter, Marc Bulger and his back-up, Jamie Martin. He also spent a brief time on the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad before being re-signed by the Rams. Due to the Rams' signing of former Miami Dolphins quarterback Gus Frerotte in the 2006 offseason, Smoker was cut from the Rams roster at the beginning of the 2006 training camp. On August 10, 2006 he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as insurance for their first preseason game since injuries limited the Chiefs to only 2 healthy quarterbacks on their roster. Smoker was subsequently cut from the team on August 28th.
[edit] College Career
Jeff Smoker attended Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, he set many of the Spartans' passing records and when he finished his collegiate career he was the fifth leading passer by yards in Big Ten history.
Smoker appeared in two bowl games during his career, winning the Silicon Valley Football Classic 44-35 vs. Fresno State University as a Sophomore, and losing against Nebraska University 17-3 as a Senior in the Alamo Bowl.
Smoker also played in the "Clockgate" game against the Michigan Wolverines on November 3, 2001 that resulted in a rules change. In the game Smoker threw the winning touchdown with 1 second remaining. The controversy stemmed from the fact that with the game being played at East Lansing, the timekeeper was a Michigan State employee. Some suggested that the timekeeper inappropriately left one second remaining after the previous play when Jeff Smoker spiked the ball to stop the clock. After the game, the Big Ten Conference changed the rule to made the timekeeper an unbiased Big Ten official rather than the host school's employee. The Big Ten's position is that the game was correctly officiated, as three years after the the game, Dave Parry, the Big Ten's coordinator of football officials, said, "That play, as much as we've put that under a high-powered microscope, was correct. We could not prove that timer wrong."
[edit] Michigan State Passing Records
As of 2006 he held the following Michigan State passing records as denoted in the 2006 Michigan State Media Guide.
Career Records
- Passing Yards - 8,932
- Touchdown passes - 61
- Pass Attempts - 1,150
- Pass Completions - 685
- Most 200 yard passing games - 23
- Interceptions - 39
Season Records
- Passing Yards - 3,395 (2003)
- Pass Attempts - 488 (2003)
- Pass Completions - 302 (2003)
- Passing Efficiency Rating (min 75 attempts)- 166.4 (2001)
- Total Offense yards per attempt (min 100 attempts) - 7.35 (2001)
Single Game Records
- Pass Attempts - 55 vs Ohio State (2003)
- Completions - 35 vs Ohio State (2003)
[edit] Struggles with Substance Abuse
Smoker was suspended for the last five games of the 2002 season by coach Bobby Williams due to a violation of team rules. It was later revealed that Smoker was dealing with substance abuse issues. His story and comeback was profiled in a front page story in Sports Illustrated.
Williams was fired toward the end of the 2002 season. Incoming coach John L. Smith reinstated Smoker in August of 2003.
