Friday, January 25, 2008

Soul signs af2 Rookie of the Year


The Philadelphia Soul signed defensive back Chris Royal and linebacker Clifton Smith on Friday.

Royal spent last season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in af2, earning Rookie of the Year and first-team All-af2 honors after totaling a league-leading 14 interceptions and returning three for touchdowns. He also tallied 117 tackles, which was the third highest total in the league, while recording 43 pass breakups.

Royal, a 5’10”, 205-pound product from Marshall, also recorded three tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 16 games played.

With the Thundering Herd, Royal ended his career with nine interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 106 tackles and two sacks in 35 games. In his senior season of 2005, Royal tallied three interceptions and one sack.

Smith, 27, joins the Soul as a rookie to the AFL. He has spent time in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. He signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and appeared in one game that season, making one tackle. After not playing in any games with the team the next season, Smith went to the Browns for parts of the next two campaigns and appeared in one contest.

The 6’3”, 253-pound Smith played in NFL Europe in 2007 with the Cologne Centurions and ended the season with a league-high three interceptions. He also had 38 tackles, five pass breakups, a forced fumble and a pair of special team takeaways.

A Freeport, NY native, Smith played collegiately at Syracuse. A four-year letter-winner, he ended his career fifth on the school’s all-time tackles list with 405 and sixth in solo tackles with 244. He was a three-time first-team All-Big East selection and was a freshman All-American.

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