Jaxon Smolik
| No. 14 – Temple Owls | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  Junior |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 2004 (age 21–22)[1] West Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa) |
| College |
|
| Stats at ESPN | |
Jaxon James Smolik (born 2004) is an American college football quarterback for the Temple Owls. He previously played for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Early life and education
Smolik was born in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he attended Dowling Catholic High School.[2] As a sophomore, he completed 57 of 96 passes for 794 yards and six touchdowns.[2] As a junior, he completed about 65% of his passes for 959 yards and nine touchdowns.[2] As a senior, he completed 64% of his passes for 1,967 yards and 19 touchdowns, leading Dowling Catholic to a 10-2 record and a state-semifinal appearance.[2]
He earned 5A all-state honors as a senior, was selected all-conference and also received Academic All-State recognition.[2]
In addition to football, he played baseball at Dowling Catholic, serving as a first-baseman and pitcher.[2]
Smolik was rated a consensus three-star prospect out of high school.[2] On August 12, 2022, he committed to play college football for Penn State.[3]
College career
Penn State
Smolik enrolled at Penn State and redshirted his true-freshman year in 2023; he appeared in one game during that season.[2] During the 2024 season, Smolik was sidelined with an injury and did not appear in games, entering the season as a redshirt freshman.[4] During the 2025 season, he saw his first extended action against Iowa on October 18, taking 11 snaps and recording four rushes for three yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter after a hit.[5]
On January 2, 2026, Smolik announced that he would enter the transfer portal.[6]
Temple
On January 10, 2026, Smolik announced that he would transfer to Temple.[7]
Statistics
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2023 | Penn State | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Penn State | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Penn State | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2026 | Temple | 0 | 0 | 0−0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career | 4 | 0 | 0−0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 0 | |
Personal life
Smolik is the son of Mark and Jaime Smolik. His father played college football at South Dakota and his brother Cameron played at Dordt University.[2]
References
- ↑ "Jaxon Smolik's Football Recruiting Profile". NCSA. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Jaxon Smolik - 2025 Football". Penn State - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Jaxon Smolik, Penn State Nittany Lions, Quarterback". 247Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ↑ Haas, Joel (June 3, 2025). "Previewing the 2025 season for Penn State QB Jaxon Smolik with his player profile". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ↑ "Penn State's Offense Finds More Issues After Loss to Iowa". Penn State Nittany Lions On SI. October 22, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ↑ Gallen, Daniel (January 2, 2026). "Penn State quarterback Jaxon Smolik to enter transfer portal". 247Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ Pastor, Shawn (January 10, 2026). "Owls grab Penn State quarterback Jaxon Smolik out of the portal". 247Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2026.