FC Dallas has loaned Homegrown defender Collin Smith to USL Championship side Birmingham Legion FC for the remainder of the 2023 season.

He is eligible to be recalled by FC Dallas at any point this season.

The 19-year old made his professional debut with North Texas SC on July 25, 2020, vs. Forward Madison when he subbed into the match in the 89th minute. He is the all-time leader in regular season appearances for NTSC, playing in 66 matches across three seasons for the club. He has scored three goals and recorded eight assists.

Our Take

This was one of the players late last season that we earmarked as needing a loan to a USL-C team. Smith is still very young but has shown that he is a level above the MLS Next Pro division but not quite ready to take on a role with the first team in MLS. So this is a natural fit.

Smith only has one player to deal with in the Birmingham depth charts at the moment for the starting right back role, Jake Rufe1. So if he can show well early on in training, we may see Smith get plenty of good minutes with Birmingham this season.

What do you all make of Smith earning this loan to Birmingham? Let’s discuss it below.

  1. https://www.bhmlegion.com/roster/ - If there are any other fullbacks, let me know, folks. I’m not 100% familiar with their defense, but I know Rufe played right back for them before. ↩