Former Texas High star Clayton Smith making his mark for Arizona State defense
Published 6:26 pm Tuesday, July 15, 2025
FRISCO — Clayton Smith was one of the most touted football recruits in the country in the Class of 2021 coming out of Texas High School in Texarkana.
The No. 38-ranked recruit nationally and No. 2 edge rusher by 247Sports Composite, the four-star prospect landed at the University of Oklahoma.
After playing in eight games and making eight tackles with two tackles for loss in two seasons with the Sooners, Smith entered the transfer portal and ended up at Arizona State.
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Now, in two seasons with the Sun Devils, Smith has played in 25 games, made 54 tackles, nine sacks, six tackles for loss, a forced fumble a fumble recovery and five pass deflections.
Smith was one of six Arizona State football players in attendance for Big 12 Football Media Days July 8 and 9 at the Ford Center in Frisco.
“The journey, I would say it’s been very eventful,” Smith said. “I’ve learned a lot. I bumped my head a couple of times, and I came back from it. Last year, it was amazing. It was a testament to all the hard work I put up as well as my teammates put up.”
Last season, Smith had 33 tackles, six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, four pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for an Arizona State team that was picked to finish last out of 16 teams in its first season in the Big 12 before going 11-3 and advancing to the College Football Playoff.
Arizona State’s Clayton Smith, a former Texas High standout, against Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship game Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. (Michel Alfaro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
“The Big 12 is a very strong conference,” Smith said. “There were a lot of games last year that could’ve went the other say, so we’ve got to keep that in mind. Nothing is going to be given to us. Everything’s got to be earned. And I think me and my team are ready for that challenge.”
Smith is one of two East Texans on the defensive line for the Sun Devils as he’s joined by Tatum’s C.J. Fite.
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“It’s a great feeling,” Smith said. “I grew up feeling like we had a lot of talent in East Texas, and to leave East Texas to see that there are more of us making a name for themselves and making an impact, it’s always a great feeling to know that you have great competition coming from where you came from.”
“They bring that East Texas physicality, baby,” Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Clayton, he showed up at 225 pounds three years ago, and he’s at 255 right now. He gained about 18-20 pounds this offseason and got a mile and a half faster at 255 pounds.”
Another East Texan that plays on the Arizona State defense is defensive back Montana Warren, who played at Elysian Fields, Marshall and Henderson in high school.
Smith said he played against Warren in high school and Fite in middle school.
“Those guys are like family,” Smith said.
All business on the gridiron, Smith wasn’t afraid to play a joke on Dillingham. Smith has a love for reptiles and owns multiple snakes, lizards and tortoises.
One day, Smith put one of his snakes in Dillingham’s office.
Dillingham said he would not go back into his office until the snake was gone.
“I don’t do snakes,” Dillingham said. “I’m not about that. I jumped and said, ‘get that snake away from me.
“He’s from Texarkana, so he grew up catching snakes. He snuck in the back door to the office behind me, and everybody else distracted me. And then all of a sudden, Clayton snuck up behind me, not cool.”
At 6-4, 255 pounds, Smith won’t be sneaking up on opposing ball carriers, but once he gets his hands on them, they’re likely to go down to the ground.
As a junior at Texas High, Smith had 94 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, 20 sacks, eight forced fumbles and three fumbles recoveries. He also had 10 receptions for 237 yards and six touchdowns that season. As a senior, he opened the season with three sacks in a 41-21 win over Tyler High at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
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