A third round pick by the Indianapolis Colts out of Florida Atlantic in 2015, D’Joun Smith had 113 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 21 passs deflections, 3 forced fumbles, and 9 picks for 135 yards and 2 TDs in 3 years for the Owls.
D’Joun has had problems staying on the field due to injury. He dressed for 4 games and made a tackle in 2015. In 2016, Smith was released by the Colts, and then spent a few months on the practice squad of the Lions and Titans. He’d be released in 2017.
Smith joined the AAF Orlando Apollos during 2018, and made the final roster of the team for 2019, but was inexplicably cut after the second game. (He’d record 1 tackle in the preseason contest against SD.) D’Joun joined the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football league, but it is unclear if he made the team or was placed on injured reserve.
Logan Woodside played quarterback at Toledo, a college team known for its offensive firepower. After redshirting in 2015, Woodside showed up on the National stage in 2016 posting some impressive numbers, throwing for 4129 yards (69.1% completions) and 45 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions. He’d close out his Senior campaign with an otherwise solid year in 2017, throwing for 3882 yards and 28 TDs. Maybe if these numbers had been reversed for his Junior and Senior years, there would have been at least a little buzz surrounding Logan. Near the end of the 2017 NFL Draft though, he’d be selected by the Cincinnati Bengals.
With a bevy of quarterbacks backing up incumbent starter Andy Dalton (Jeff Driskel and Matt Barkley), it was hard for Logan to get game action, however he finally saw sizable action in the final preseason contest against the Colts. With Barkley sustaining an injury during the game, and Driskel passing the more expensive veteran on the depth chart, it looked like Logan might just make the squad- but he’d be cut anyway right before the regular season began. After a brief stint on the Titans practice squad, Logan was selected by the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football. Selected almost as an afterthought by the team, Logan had no clue he was even eligible for the league until they contacted him.
Facing an uphill battle as the 3rd man in the rotation behind Dustin Vaughan and Marquise Williams, Logan somehow ended up starting from day one for the Commanders. Although he battled injuries over the last two contests, Logan threw for 1385 yards and 7 TDs to 8 interceptions. He also carried the ball 26 times for 45 yards.
His best game came in week 5 against the Arizona Hotshots. Arizona opted to try to stop up SA’s formidable rushing attack, so Woodside picked them apart throwing for 290 yards on 21 of 27 passes for 2 TDs. The Commanders took the game on the road and Logan won Alliance Player of the Week Honors for his efforts.
After the Alliance folded, Logan resigned with the Tennessee Titans and as of 2020 is their scout team QB.
Samkon Gado is one of those rare athletes who wasn’t really on the radar of scouts going into his final year playing college ball. In fact he was looking forward more to becoming a doctor than playing football, but as fate would have it, nearly the entire Liberty runningback corps was depleted, and Samkon stepped in and ran for 901 yards on 138 carries, scoring 11 TDs in 9 games.
It was all about being at the right place, at the right time for Samkon, and it seemed that scouts identified his intangible talent for rising to the occasion. After going undrafted in 2005, he was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad for a brief time. A month or two later, he was signed by the Packers. Then nearly the entire runningback stable went down one by one due to injury. First Ahman Green, then Najeh Davenport, and then finally Tony Fisher.
Gado saw extensive playing time in their absence after taking the starting runningback role. He’d have 3 100 yard efforts during the season, and set a franchise rookie record rushing for 171 yards against the Lions. Ultimately he too would end his season on injured reserve.
With new management in town for 2006, the Packers traded Gado to the Houston Texans after Week 1 of the season for Vernand Morency. The Texans were shoring up their runningback depth behind Ron Dayne and Wali Lundy. During the season he’d pitch back to back 60 yard efforts against Jacksonville and Buffalo.
In 2007, Ahman Green also joined the Texans runningback committee, and was the starter above Dayne. Gado beat out Lundy to make the final squad, scoring his first TD with the Texans in the season opener against the Colts.
He’d be cut at the end of October, and signed with the Miami Dolphins, after starting RB Ronnie Brown went down. Again, backup Ricky Williams, then himself also was fallen by injury, so Samkon had to step in again. He’d help contribute to the Dolphins only win on the 2007 season.
Samkon then played for the St. Louis Rams over the next two seasons, but saw little action outside of special teams. In 2010 he signed with the Tennessee Titans but did not make the final roster.
Samkon finished his medical degree and now is a doctor at Saint Louis University Hospital as part of the Otolaryngology program.
G/GS
RUSH
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
41/8
268
972
3.6
11
64
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
43
292
6.8
1
35
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
