In 1914, Smith enrolled at the University of Michigan and played on the Michigan Wolverines freshman football team. Smith was a standout on the freshman team, being compared with Michigan State star George "Carp" Julian: "Smith weighs 190. He rips up the line in about the same manner as the Aggie terror." As a sophomore in 1915, Smith started five games at fullback. As a junior in 1916, he started seven games at fullback. Michigan's legendary coach, Fielding H. Yost, said of Smith: "Pat was a brilliant player... fast, brainy and an excellent punter and passer. I would call him an all-around star. He was unfortunate in being injured on a number of occasions, but the following Saturday he was usually ready to put on another stellar performance." After the 1916 season, Smith's teammates selected him as captain of the 1917 Michigan football team. Smith was also a member of the Michigan track and field team in 1916, 1917 and 1919. He won the Big Ten Conferenceshot put title in 1919.
World War I
After submarines sank seven U.S. merchant ships and the publication of the Zimmermann Telegram, the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Even before the formal declaration of war, Smith enlisted with the Ann Arbor naval reserves and by the end of April 1917, he was reported to be "somewhere in the east" serving his country. In honor of Captain Smith's actions, the Michigan football team voted to preserve his status as captain of the 1917 team, even though he spent the fall at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. For the first time in the history of football at Michigan, the team had no active captain. At the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Smith was assigned to play on the unit's football team with other leading football players who were enlisted in the Navy. Smith was the captain and fullback for the Great Lakes team, a squad that beat the University of Iowa 14–7. For Thanksgiving, a special all-star match was played at Stagg Field in Chicago between players who were serving in the Army and Navy. Smith was the leader of the Navy team that defeated the Army 27–0. Newspaper accounts of the game report that Smith played a "brilliant game," as he "smashed his way over for two touchdowns." With most of college football's top performers in the military service, Walter Camp did not select an All-American team in 1917. Instead, he selected an All-America Service team and named Smith as the fullback on that team. After the war, Smith returned to Michigan where he received his degree in 1919.
Professional football
Smith played professional football for Masillon Tigers in 1919 and for the Buffalo All-Americans in the fledgling National Football League from 1920 to 1921 and in 1923. In 1920, the first season of the NFL's existence, Smith led Buffalo with four touchdowns. Though individual records from the 1920 NFL season are difficult to verify, sources indicate that Smith's 24 points placed him as either the second or third leading scorer in the league. In 1921, Buffalo's backfield included Smith at fullback, Elmer Oliphant at halfback, Ockie Anderson, and Tommy Hughitt at quarterback. With what was said to be the best backfield in the league, Buffalo finished in first place in 1921, compiling a 9–1–2 record and outscoring opponents 211–29. In November 1921, Buffalo played a game at Chicago's Cub Park in front of a large crowd, including "scores of Michigan men" who yelled for former Wolverine favorites, Smith and Hughitt. Smith played in only one NFL game after the 1921 season, a single game for Buffalo in 1923.
