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LOGAN — Former Utah State football players Robert Turbin and Michael Smith were selected
by teams in the National Football League Draft Saturday. Turbin was selected by the Seattle
Seahawks with the 11th pick of the fourth round and the 106th overall pick, while Smith was
drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the fifth pick of the seventh round and the 212th
overall selection.
“It felt good to get the call. I’m happy get drafted and excited to be a Seahawk,” Turbin said.
Turbin was home in Fremont, Calif., watching with his family when he got the call from the
Seahawks organization. Turbin will reunite with former Aggie teammate Bobby Wagner, who
was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round Friday night.
“It is going to be a blast. Bobby and I are good friends,” Turbin said. “It is going to be good to be
teammates again.”
Smith also was with his family, in his hometown of Tucson, Ariz., when the Buccaneers called
him with the good news.
Former Utah State RB Robert Turbin was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the 11th pick of
the fourth round, 106th overall, while teammate Michael Smith was drafted by the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers with the fifth pick of the seventh round, 212th overall.
“It is a great opportunity. I am glad to be a Buccaneer. I went out to visit them earlier in the
month. They said they loved me. They got a new coaching staff, and I am very excited to play
for them,” Smith said.
Part of Smith’s watch party included his fianceé, former USU women’s basketball studentathlete Alice Coddington, as the couple just got engaged earlier this week.
“She is a special always to be me with her athletic ability and all that. She is a great woman, pure
with her honesty. I love her,” Smith said.
The drafted Aggie trio marks the first time that three USU players were selected in the same
draft since 1984 when Patrick Allen (4/100), Aaron Smith (6/159), Theodis Windham (12/329)
and Andy Parket (5/127). Overall, it is just the 15th time in the Aggies’ history that three or more
players were picked in the same draft.
“It means a lot,” Turbin said about the significance of having three USU players selected in the
same NFL draft. “It shows that Utah State is rising as we should and as was planned. There will
be more good players to come out in years to come.”
Turbin and Smith are also the first pair of USU teammates at the same position to get drafted
since 1984 when DBs Allen and Windman were drafted. It also marks the first time two Aggie
running backs were selected in same draft since 1976, when Louie Giammona and Ron Holmes
were both drafted out of the USU offensive backfield.
“They are going to represent us very well,” USU head coach Gary Andersen said. “To have
Michael get drafted does not surprise me a bit with the sheer athleticism and the speed that he
has. He is going to do a very good job. It is going to be very hard for people to hold him off once
he gets into camp. To have three kids drafted is fantastic. Most importantly, they are three
fantastic kids, great leaders, just great ambassadors to Utah State football as a whole and are all
graduates here in the next couple of weeks. A special time for those kids.”
With Turbin and Smith’s selections Saturday, Utah State has now had 114 former players
selected in the NFL Draft.
In addition to Wagner and Turbin, the Seahawks also drafted another player from the Western
Athletic Conference in Idaho LB Korey Toomer in the seventh round. Overall, there were 11
WAC players drafted in the three- day, seven-round draft, with USU’s three selections right
behind Nevada’s conference-leading four picks, while Hawaii, Idaho, Fresno State and New
Mexico State with one each.
ABOUT ROBERT TURBIN
Turbin, a native of Fremont, Calif. (Irvington HS), was named the WAC Offensive Player of the
Year. He rushed for 1,517 yards during his junior season of 2011, becoming just the third Aggie
running back with 1,500 yards, finishing No. 3 on the list behind record-holder Demario Brown
(1999) with 1,536 yards and Louie Giammona (1974) with 1,534 yards. The 1,517 rushing yards
is No. 15 on the WAC’s single-season rushing list.
In his final game as an Aggie, Turbin rushed for 101 yards in USU’s loss to Ohio in the Famous
Idaho Potato Bowl. The 101 yards was Turbin’s eighth 100-yard outing of the season and 16th of
his career, ranking among the top 10 active running backs in the country.
On the year, Turbin scored a USU record 19 rushing TDs, adding four receiving scores for 23
total TDs and 138 total points on the season, also USU single-season records. The 138 total
points is No. 7 on the WAC single- season scoring list, just behind Marshall Faulk’s 140 points
in 1991 at San Diego State.
Beginning his career in 2007, Turbin saw action in one game before suffering a foot injury and
redshirting the season. He played in 12 games in both 2008 and 2009, before suffering a knee
injury in the offseason, missing the 2010 season, before returning to form in 2010. Ending his
USU career with 3,315 rushing yards, Turbin holds the No. 5 spot on USU’s career rushing list
and No. 19 on the WAC’s career rushing list. Turbin tied the USU career rushing TD record with
40 scores, matching Abu Wilson (1992, 94-96), and the 40 career rushing TDs ranks No. 10 on
the WAC’s career rushing score list.
For his career, Turbin also set USU records with 51 total TDs and 308 career points scored,
ranking tied for No. 6 on the WAC’s career total TD list and No. 13 on the league’s career
scoring list.
In addition to being the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Year, Turbin also earned first-team all WAC honors this season, and also earned all-WAC accolades from several different national
publications. Turbin was on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, honoring the
nation’s best running back.
ABOUT MICHAEL SMITH
Smith, a native of Tucson, Ariz., (Sunnyside HS/Eastern Arizona JC) collected his second MVP
award in his last two games played, as he earned offensive most valuable player honors in
leading the North to a 24-19 win over the South in the inaugural Players All-Star Classic Feb. 4.
In that game, Smith rushed for 124 yards on 12 carries (10.3 ypc), including an 80-yard TD
scamper. He also returned four kickoffs for 105 yards (26.3 ypr). Smith’s 80-yard touchdown run
in the third quarter gave the North at 17-16 lead.
He was also USU’s MVP in the Aggies’ 24-23 loss to Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Dec. 17, 2011. He ran for a career-high, a USU bowl record and the third-best Famous Idaho
Potato Bowl rushing outing with 157 yards, scoring both of Utah State’s rushing TDs.
It was Smith’s third multi-TD outing of the season and fourth of his career, as well as setting a
career-high for the second-straight game, topping the 100-yard mark for the third time in his
career. Smith’s 63-yard TD run was the longest allowed by the Ohio defense of the 2011 season
and was also Smith’s second longest TD run of the season behind a 77-yarder in the San Jose
State game. It was Smith’s fourth TD run of 46 or more yards this season and his seventh
explosive (20+yards) of the year.
Smith finished the 2011 season second on the team with eight rushing TDs, and was also second
on the team with 870 yards on 114 carries. He finished seventh in WAC in rushing (66.92 ypg).
He ranked third in the Football Bowl Subdivision and was first in the WAC in rushing yards per
carry (7.63 ypc), the second-most in USU history and most since 1960. Smith set a new USU
record for career yards per carry (7.14 ypc).
Off the field, Smith was an Academic all-WAC selection in 2011 and was also a Joe E. and Elma
Whitesides Scholar- Athlete.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on the USU football
blog at usufootball.wordpress.com. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at
twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media
Relations.