March 9, 2010
TEMPE. Ariz. - Arizona State University football student-athlete Brandon Smith has been granted an extension of eligibility to his five-year clock, ASU announced Friday. As per NCAA legislation, a student-athlete has five years from initial full-time enrollment to compete in four seasons of competition. This request was submitted by ASU to the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee. The NCAA notified ASU recently.
Smith, from Bakersfield, Calif., missed the entire 2009 and 2007 seasons with an injury. Smith played in only one game in 2008 and caught three passes for 20 yards against Oregon State.
In 2006 Smith appeared in 11 games, starting two (Washington State, Hawai'i) and totaled six catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged a team-high 27.8 yards-per-catch. In his first career start, he caught three passes for 102 yards (34.0 avg.) and a touchdown against Washington State on Nov. 11, becoming the first Sun Devil freshman wide receiver to surpass 100 receiving yards in a game since Shaun McDonald did so in 2000. His 62-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Rudy Carpenter was the longest completed pass for the Sun Devils during the 2006 season. Smith caught two passes for 28 yards against UCLA on Nov. 18 and made a 37-yard touchdown reception as a starter in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl against Hawai'i on Dec. 25.
Smith redshirted as a member of ASU's scout team in 2005. A 2005 graduate of West High School in Bakersfield, Calif., Smith was a pre- and postseason all-region selection by PrepStar Magazine. He was the No. 72 player in the Far West by SuperPrep and was rated the No. 60 wide receiver prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He was listed as the No. 65 player in the state of California by Rivals.com (all positions), was the No. 93 player in the West Hot 100 by Scout.com and was a member of The Tacoma News Tribune's "Western 100" list in 2005. As a senior at Bakersfield High Smith had 41 receptions for 700 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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