Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, receiving first-team All-Big East honors in 2011. Smith was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. He spent his first two seasons as the Jets' starter, but inconsistent play and injuries led to him being benched before he was released in 2016. Smith played his next two seasons as a backup with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers.
Joining the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, Smith became the team's starter three years later and had a breakout season, leading Seattle to the playoffs and holding the highest completion percentage in the league. He was named Comeback Player of the Year and earned Pro Bowl honors. Smith played with the Seahawks for two more seasons, earning a second consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2023. Amid a contract dispute, he was traded in 2025 to the Las Vegas Raiders. He rejoined the Jets the following year.
Smith was born to high school students Eugene Smith Jr. and Tracy Sellers in Miramar, Florida on October 10, 1990. His family originally hails from Bimini in the Bahamas. His great-uncle, Danny Smith, was a record breaking All-American hurdler at Florida State, and his cousin Mel Bratton was a star running back at Miami in the mid-1980s. Smith's nickname, Geno, came from his grandfather, who was nicknamed "Big Geno".
Smith was admitted to Norland Middle School's magnet program, which dedicated two hours per day to arts instruction. He went on to attend Miramar High School, where he was coached by former Mountaineer Damon Cogdell. As a junior, Smith passed for 2,200 yards, 25 touchdowns, and three interceptions, and was named second-team all-state quarterback. He was also named second-team all-Broward County as an athlete for 2007. Following his junior year, Smith was invited to the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback camp in Aliso Viejo, California.
As a senior, he led his team to the state 6A semi-finals, completing 205 of 338 passes for 3,089 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushing for over 300 yards. Smith was a first-team all-state selection in Florida Class 6A and a Parade All-American. He was also the No. 1 rated player in Broward County according to the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun Sentinel, and finished No. 2 in the voting for Mr. Florida. Smith finished his high school career as the third-best passer in Broward County history, and was named to the ESPN Top 150 prospects list. He chose to attend West Virginia over offers from Florida State, South Florida, Boston College, and Alabama.
Smith attended West Virginia University, where he played for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team from 2009 to 2012. Smith was an English major during his time at West Virginia.
Smith saw some action his freshman year as the backup behind senior Jarrett Brown. His first snap in a regular season game came against Auburn; Smith completed five of eight passes for 50 yards and an interception. He would see action again against Syracuse, Marshall, Louisville, and in the Gator Bowl against Florida State. In his freshman year at West Virginia University, Smith completed 32 of 49 passes for 309 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for an 81.1 quarterback rating to go along with 17 carries for seven yards as the backup to starting quarterback Brown.
2010 was Smith's first year as the starting quarterback. Smith got his first start in the season opener against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, completing 20 of 27 passes for 216 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the 31–0 shutout victory.
With the Mountaineers down 21–6 against in-state rival, Marshall, Smith led his team to a fourth quarter comeback victory. He led the first drive from the Mountaineers' 4-yard line. With help from senior running back Noel Devine, the Mountaineers cut Marshall's lead to eight points. After the Mountaineers' defense stopped Marshall, a punt put the Mountaineers near their own end zone again, starting from the 2-yard line. After completing 9 of 13 passes and scrambling for 20 yards, Smith found tight end Will Johnson in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown. With Marshall still leading 21–19, head coach Bill Stewart elected to go for the two-point conversion. Smith completed a pass to wide receiver Jock Sanders in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion. The Mountaineers went on to win the game in overtime by a score of 24–21. Smith finished the game completing 32 of 45 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown to go along with 14 carries for 13 yards. After two games, Smith led the Big East Conference in passing yards and passing efficiency.
In a 31–17 victory over Maryland, Smith completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Two of his touchdowns were to Tavon Austin, and the other two were to Stedman Bailey. Smith won his first Big East Offensive Player of the Week for this performance.
In West Virginia's first meeting ever with LSU, the Mountaineers lost at Tiger Stadium by a score of 20–14. Smith completed 14 of 29 pass attempts for 119 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to go along with five carries for 10 yards.
Smith threw for 220 yards and ran for 19 yards in West Virginia's 49–10 win over UNLV. It was the most points WVU had scored since playing Connecticut in 2007.
During a 16–13 overtime loss to Connecticut, Smith completed 22 of 34 passes for 160 yards to go along with a season-high 64 rushing yards. This was the first game all season where Smith did not throw a touchdown pass. The loss was also the first time Connecticut had ever beaten West Virginia.
Smith tied his record for touchdowns in a game in a 37–10 win over Cincinnati, where he was 15 for 25, throwing for 174 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. The win came after a two-game losing streak. It was the first time the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati since 2007. Smith won his second Big East Offensive Player of the Week for this performance.
On November 26 against Pittsburgh, Smith threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the 35–10 victory. In the next game against Rutgers, he had 352 passing yards and a touchdown in the 35–14 victory. Smith finished the 2010 season with 196 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a 23–7 loss to North Carolina State in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Smith finished his sophomore season completing 241 of 372 passes for 2,763 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions to go along with 106 carries for 217 yards.
With the arrival of new West Virginia football head coach Dana Holgorsen and a new passing-based offensive system, Smith saw his passing numbers improve drastically. In the fourth game of the season against the #2 LSU Tigers, Smith set school records for completions (38), attempts (65), and passing yards (463) in the 47–21 loss on September 24, 2011.
With 372 passing yards against the Cincinnati Bearcats on November 12, Smith tied a Big East record with his seventh 300-yard game of the season. He tied the record that was set in 2007 by Brian Brohm of the Louisville Cardinals.