Jay Smith (1966) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Jay Smith

Induction:
1966

    Jay Smith was one of the most exciting ends to play for Southern Miss in the early years of the post World War II era at Southern Miss. As Coach Reed Green began to rebuild the school’s football program after the war, Smith was one of the most important building blocks.
     What made Smith so outstanding on offense was simply his ability to catch the ball. As elementary as that seems, he had a knack for catching the ball no matter where it was thrown. He could go up high and retrieve them, make the shoe string catch or the diving catch and make them all look easy.
     As a blocker he had few peers. One of the main reasons that the Southern Miss running game was so good in those post-war years was the fact that Smith a lot of times was out front blocking for the schools great backs of the era.
     On defense Smith also excelled. As a pass rusher few were as fast and quick as he was at getting to the quarterback and against the run he had the innate ability to shed a blocker, get into the backfield and drop a runner for a loss.
     Smith’s career began in 1946 when Green would lead the team to a sparkling 7-3 record. The team would win five of its first six games that year, with the only loss a heart breaking 13-12 decision against Auburn in Montgomery, Alabama. Three times that year the Southern Miss offense with Smith leading the way would score over 50 points, a pair of 65-0 wins over Jacksonville State and Louisiana College and a 55-0 win over the University of Havana in the Cigar Bowl in Cuba.
     Defensively the ’46 team was pretty stout, shutting out six opponents and allowing only 46 points all season long. Smith was among the leading tacklers on the team that year.
     The 1947 season would see Southern Miss finish 7-3 for a second straight year and once again Smith would make big contributions. Although he would catch only six passes that year they were all big plays as he averaged over 22 yards per catch. But as a blocker on offense he helped again to open holes for Hall of Famers Bubba Phillips and Eddie Langford.
     The ’47 defense with Smith a solid fixture at end had three shutouts and allowed only 102 points all season. Only four opponents would manage to score more than a touchdown on that defense that year.
     Following his career at Southern Miss he would be drafted by two rival leagues in professional football. In the 1948 draft he was taken in the third round of the NFL draft by the Chicago Cardinals, while Brooklyn of the AAFC selected him in the 6th round that year, the 30th player taken overall.
     Smith still remains one of the most popular players to have ever played at Southern Miss and the sight of him moving over the middle to catch a pass or fighting his way into the opponents backfield to tackle a ball carrier for a loss, are still vivid to fans today.
      He was also an outstanding basketball player during the 1946-47 season.