Coach Smith is in his first season as Defensive Coordinator.
Smith joins Ottawa University as the Braves’ Defensive Coordinator after spending the past several seasons coaching at the NCAA Division I level. Most recently, Smith served as an Assistant Defensive Backs Coach at the University of South Carolina from 2023 to 2025 after working as a Defensive Analyst for the Gamecocks from 2021 to 2023.
During his time at South Carolina, Smith helped mentor some of the top defensive backs in the country, including All-American safeties Nick Emmanwori and Jaylan Foster. The Gamecocks ranked among the national leaders in multiple defensive categories during his tenure, including leading the SEC in interceptions in 2022 and pass defense and total turnovers in 2021.
Prior to South Carolina, Smith coached at Western Kentucky University, serving as a graduate assistant running backs coach in 2018 before becoming the program’s Assistant Defensive Backs Coach from 2019 to 2020. He also gained experience at Rose-Hulman as an assistant defensive line coach and at Indiana State University as a graduate assistant linebackers coach.
Smith has also participated in professional development opportunities with the Minnesota Vikings through the NFL’s Diversity Coaching Summit and Bill Walsh Coaching Fellowship programs.
