Fish Smithson has offensive flashback on interception return

By Matt Tait     Nov 14, 2015

Richard Gwin
Kansas' Fish Smithson (9) comes up with a interception in the second half of the Jayhawks' 23-17 loss to TCU on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, in Fort Worth, Texas.

? On a day when the Kansas University defense played its most complete game of the season and nearly delivered a monster upset over TCU, one of the biggest plays of Saturday’s 23-17 loss at Amon G. Carter Stadium nearly made KU coach David Beaty faint.

With the game tied at 10 and TCU marching down the field on the opening drive of the second half, KU junior Fish Smithson intercepted a pass from Horned Frogs quarterback Bram Kohlhausen to end the threat and set the Jayhawks up with good field position.

After picking off the pass and turning upfield, Smithson flashed the ball the way a baseball outfielder would signal that he made a catch and then danced and juked his way to the KU 32 yard line.

“I thought that was a great play by Fish,” Beaty said with a grin. “If we can just get him to tuck it away a little quicker. He scares you like that.”

Asked if he was aware that he had nearly given his coach a panic attack, Smithson, a former high school quarterback, smiled and said the gesture was the result of a flashback to his days as a ball carrier.

“I’ve been playing offense for a long time,” he said. “And that’s just kind of the way I carry it, how I’m comfortable with the ball in my hands. I know it scared a couple of our coaches so I’ll try not to do it as much.”

— See what people were saying about the game during KUsports.com’s live coverage.


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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.