NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 54 - Austin Smaha, Belvidere North

The only Blue Thunder on our list went from being the star in a program on the rise to struggling to find time at a college program at its peak.

Austin Smaha turned in one of the greatest individual performances in conference history in 2010 when he rushed for 1,658 yards and 19 touchdowns in just nine games for a Belvidere North team that went 2-7. He finished 60 yards ahead of Tyreis Thomas of Boylan, but Thomas needed five more games. Smaha had nearly twice as many yards as the third place rusher.

Smaha came back to run for another 1,262 yards and 17 TDs in 2011 and win conference MVP in 2011 as the Blue Thunder improved to 3-6. He finished second in the conference in rushing to Thomas, who had 1,606 yards in 14 games for the state-champion Titans.

Although Smaha was known for his offense at Belvidere North, he also starred on defense, recording 225.5 tackles over three years at North. The stellar career earned him a scholarship to Northern Illinois University.

At Northern, Smaha was converted to a defensive end, but he struggled to get snaps because this was Northern Illinois at its peak. 

Smaha redshirted in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, the Huskies went 12-2 and 11-3 and followed that up with a 8-6 record in 2015. In 2016, Smaha worked his way into the regular defensive line rotation for a team that went 5-7 and led NIU in sacks with five. Smaha ended up with 40 tackles in 45 games and six quarterback sacks.

Today, Smaha works for R&D Thiel in Belvidere.

No. 54 - Austin Smaha, Belvidere North
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
2010	High School	Bel. North	First Team All-Conference	2
			League Leader	1
2011	High School	Bel. North	First Team All-Conference	2
			Conference MVP	1
2013	College	Northern Illinois	Player in Division 1	1.75
			Winning Team	1
			Bowl Game	1
2014	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Winning Team	1
			Bowl Game	1
2015	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Winning Team	1
			Bowl Game	1
2016	College	Northern Illinois	Letter Winner for NCAA Div. 1A	3.5
			Starter	1
Total				25.25

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players