Billy Ray Smith Jr., the Arkansas linebacker who became a two-time unanimous All-American, a College Football Hall of Famer and a longtime San Diego Chargers standout, has died at 64.
The Chargers announced Smith’s death in an X post Wednesday. His family also released a statement saying he “faced his long journey with dementia caused by CTE with unmatched bravery, dignity, and strength.”
Smith’s football path was already decorated before he ever reached the NFL. He helped Plano Senior High School win a Texas Class 4A state championship, then carried that momentum to Arkansas, where he matched his father, Super Bowl champion Billy Ray Smith Sr., by earning unanimous All-America honors twice.
That college career eventually led him to the Chargers, who took him with the No. 5 overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. Smith spent 10 seasons with San Diego and built a résumé that included team MVP honors in 1987, team defensive player of the year honors in 1985 and 1986, and Second Team All-Pro recognition in 1989.
His numbers tell the story of a playmaker who showed up all over the field. Smith finished his NFL career with 26½ sacks, including a career-best 11 in 1986, along with 15 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.
The accolades kept coming after his playing days. Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and later was voted onto the Chargers 50th Anniversary Team in 2009 by fans and Chargers Hall of Famers. After retiring, he also went on to a prolific sports media career in San Diego.
In Other News...
Arkansas Faces A Bigger Problem Than Ryan Silverfield Right Now
Ryan Silverfields arrival in Fayetteville gives Arkansas a new voice and a familiar type of task, the sort every first-year coach inherits when he walks into a program that has been searching for traction. The former Memphis head coach spent six seasons building a 50-24 record with the Tigers, and now he replaces Sam Pittman with the expectation that he can steady a Razorbacks team that has been stuck in recent seasons.
The early conversation around Silverfield has already spilled beyond his own rsum, with Paul Finebaum weighing in at SEC media days and pointing the finger not at the coach, but at Arkansas leadership if the program looks unprepared. That puts the Razorbacks in a familiar but uncomfortable spot, because the real issue is bigger than whether Silverfield can organize a staff and get started fast. The pressure is on the people above him to show they have finally given him a path to succeed. [Read more 🡒]
JJ Andrews Gives Arkansas Fans An Early Reason To Believe
Arkansas exhibition trip to the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League is giving fans an early look at what the freshman class might bring, and JJ Andrews wasted no time making an impression. The wing scored 16 points in his first exhibition game while also adding five rebounds and three steals, a strong opening for a player whose name already carries plenty of familiarity in Fayetteville.
Andrews arrives with the kind of recruiting profile that naturally brings expectations, and his debut offered a glimpse of why the hype followed him to campus. As part of Arkansas 2026 recruiting class, he showed the sort of activity and two-way presence that can travel in summer settings, giving Razorbacks supporters a reason to keep watching closely as the tour continues. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Freshmen Just Made Caliparis Rotation Battle A Lot More Interesting
The first exhibition game gave Arkansas an early look at how crowded the rotation race might become, and the newcomers did plenty to make things interesting. In a 106-59 win over the Bahamas National Team, the Razorbacks got strong contributions from Abdou Toure and JJ Andrews, two freshmen who looked comfortable right away in a game that offered both a tune-up and a showcase.
Toure filled the box score with energy on both ends, while Andrews brought the kind of activity that can change how a staff views its wing depth. For a team still sorting out roles before the games count, performances like that do not just add scoring, they force attention, and they give John Calipari and his staff more to weigh as the rotation starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]