Smith attended Massillon Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio, where he played three sports: football, track and basketball. He was a two-time first-team All-Ohio performer. He had 110 career catches for 2,119 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was also named All-county Independent player of year. Smith lettered 2 years track & field at Massillon High and previously at Ellet High School in football and track and field.. He was the state's long jump champion. As a sprinter, he recorded a personal-best time of 10.56 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the 2011 state meet, where he placed first. He was also a state qualifier in the high jump and as part of the 4x200 relay. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Smith was rated as the 58th best wide receiver prospect of his class. On June 17, 2010, he committed to The Ohio State University to play college football.
College career
Smith caught 14 passes for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns as a true freshman, highlighted by a 40-yard game-winning touchdown reception from Braxton Miller with 20 seconds left in a 33-29 win over Wisconsin. He started 10 games as a sophomore, playing in all 12. He caught 30 passes for 618 yards and six touchdowns. As a junior, starting 12 games, he recorded 44 receptions for 660 yards and 8 touchdowns, and earned himself honorable mention all-conference honors. As a senior, Smith had 33 receptions for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns. In the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game, he caught 4 passes for 137 yards and 3 touchdowns, helping the Buckeyes to a 59-0 victory over Wisconsin. In the 2015 Sugar Bowl, in which Ohio State upset No. 1 Alabama 42–35, Smith had 2 receptions for 87 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown that put his team ahead for good early in the third quarter. In the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Oregon, he had one reception for 45 yards. Smith finished his college career with 121 receptions for 2,503 yards and 30 touchdowns. Smith also spent three spring seasons sprinting and jumping with the Buckeyes track & field team. He finished in a tie for second at the 2014 Big Ten outdoor championships in the high jump by clearing a personal, collegiate-best 7-0.25 in his first competition of the season, and qualified him for NCAA regional competition.
The New York Jets selected Smith in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. On May 8, 2015, the New York Jets signed Smith to a four-year, $5.87 million contract with $3.23 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of 2.53 million. On November 29, 2015, Smith caught his first career touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. On December 12, 2015, Smith suffered a knee injury and had to leave the Week 14 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. Two days later, it was revealed that he had suffered a torn ACL, bringing his rookie season to a premature end. In 10 games of his rookie season in 2015, Smith had 115 receiving yards and a touchdown. On December 18, Smith was placed on injured reserve. Smith started the 2016 season on PUP to rehabilitate his right knee suffered the previous season. He was activated off PUP to the active roster on November 9, 2016 prior to Week 10. Smith was limited to four games in 2016, recording only one reception for 20 yards. On April 29, 2017, as the third day the 2017 NFL Draft was in progress, it was revealed that Smith had suffered another torn ACL to the same knee. This was his second torn ACL of his professional career, and he would miss the entire 2017 season. On May 22, 2017, the Jets waived/injured Smith and placed him on injured reserve. On July 16, 2018, Smith was waived by the Jets.
On January 18, 2019, Smith signed a reserve/future contract with the Dallas Cowboys. His play was a surprise during the preseason and made the team as a backup wide receiver. On September 15, in Week 2 against the Washington Redskins, Smith caught 3 passes for 74 yards including a 51 yard touchdown to open up 5 straight drives of scoring. He finished the season with 5 receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown. He dropped on the depth chart and was declared inactive after appearing in the first four games of the season.
