Staff report

Chris Smith,  one of many key elements of the West Rowan soccer dynasty, died at 31 on Tuesday.

Smith’s loss of life has been confirmed. Not a lot is thought in regards to the circumstances or the reason for loss of life but.

It’s a tragic loss for his household, associates, former teammates and for Rowan County. He had been the final word give-back man and had been a beneficiant donor to native faculties and tasks. He stayed near his Rowan County roots regardless of the place his soccer odyssey took him.

Smith had signed a contract in March to play for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL.

Smith starred as a defensive finish for West Rowan head soccer coach Scott Young throughout the state championship seasons of 2008 and 2009 and was Shrine Bowl Defensive MVP in 2009.

He attracted quite a few school presents earlier than selecting Arkansas and the possibility to play towards the most effective in Southeastern Conference.

He grew to become a starter for the Razorbacks as a sophomore and recorded 18 sacks in his final two seasons of school soccer.

He was a fifth-round draft decide by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014 and performed three seasons there.

His finest NFL seasons had been in 2017 with the Cincinnati Bengals — he had three sacks — and in 2018 with the Cleveland Browns, the place he began two video games and was a daily contributor.

His 2019 season with Cleveland was marred by the tragic loss of life of his girlfriend.

He performed some for the Las Vegas Raidersi in 2020. In 2021, he was briefly with the Baltimore Ravens after which performed in 4 video games for the Houston Texans.

He was out of the NFL in 2022, however had began a comeback try by signing with the XFL Sea Dragons.

More on Smith is upcoming.