South Carolina’s Cam Smith headed to NFL’s Miami Dolphins
The first South Carolina Gamecock is off the board.
USC cornerback and former Westwood High standout Cam Smith was selected No. 51 overall Friday night in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
Smith, who is from Blythewood, is the highest-drafted South Carolina defensive back since Jaycee Horn went No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers in the 2021 draft. Smith was largely projected as a late first round or early second round pick heading into the week.
A four-star recruit in the 2019 class, Smith played parts of four seasons for the Gamecocks, including the past two as the go-to No. 1 cornerback on the roster following Horn and Israel Mukuamu’s departures after the 2020 season.
Smith was named an honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Focus in 2021 and, most recently, earned second team All-SEC honors from Phil Steele this past season.
Helping the Gamecocks to an 8-5 record, including upset wins over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson, he finished his final campaign in Columbia with 27 tackles, six passes defended, one tackle for a loss and one interception. Smith opted out of USC’s Gator Bowl loss to Notre Dame in order to prepare for the draft.
Smith’s career totals at South Carolina included 91 tackles, 18 pass breakups and six interceptions over 33 games, 19 of which were starts.
He’ll continue the USC program’s lineage of sending defensive backs to the NFL. Horn (Carolina) and Israel Mukuama (Dallas) were both drafted two years ago, while Johnathan Joseph, D.J. Swearinger, Stephon Gilmore, Chris Culliver and Sheldon Brown are just a few of the former Gamecock DBs to find success in the pros.
Teammate Darius Rush could be drafted Friday night as well.
This story was originally published April 28, 2023 at 8:32 PM.
