Ahmaad Smith (born February 28, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played one season with the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa) ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

. He was also a member of the Mississippi MudCats,

Texas Copperheads The Texas Copperheads were a professional arena football that played in AF2, the minor league for the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2006 as member of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). They played their home games at t ...

Team Tennessee The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional american football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college g ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...

. Smith appeared on

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...

's reality show ''4th and Long''.

Early years

Smith played basketball in high school and did not play football until his senior year.

College career

Smith was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and two-year starter for the

Tennessee State Tigers The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...

from 2002 to 2005, recording 13 tackles, three pass break ups and one interception. He was a defensive captain his senior season in 2005. He also played basketball for the Tigers. Smith earned his BBA in business information systems from

in 2006.

Professional career

Smith played in six games for the Mississippi MudCats of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

during the 2007 season, recording 14.5 tackles, five pass breakups and four interceptions for 34 yards and one touchdown. He played for the

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

in 2007, recording 14.5 total tackles, one interception, 8 pass breakups and one forced fumble. He was selected by

of the

All American Football League The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been sch ...

(AAFL) with the 218th pick in the

2008 AAFL Draft The 2008 All American Football League Draft took place in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territ ...

and signed with the team on February 7, 2008. The AAFL later cancelled the 2008 season and never began play. Smith was signed by the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) on May 13, 2008. He was released by the Lions on June 15, 2008. He was a finalist on

's reality show ''4th and Long''. Smith signed with the

of the CFL on January 29, 2010. He was released by the Argonauts on June 20, 2010. He was assigned to the

of the

Arena football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) on November 10, 2009 and played for the team during the 2010 season, recording two tackles. Smith was assigned to the

of the AFL on October 12, 2011. He was reassigned by the Power on February 27, 2012.

Coaching career

Smith served as defensive backs coach of the

Hampden–Sydney Tigers The Hampden–Sydney Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Hampden–Sydney College, located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Tigers compete as members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference fo ...

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , cou ...

. He was the runner-up for the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2013. He was awarded The Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Internship to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

in 2015, working with the defensive backs. Smith has also served as a football coach at Northview High School in

Johns Creek, Georgia Johns Creek is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population was 82,453. The city is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. History In the early 19th century, the Johns Creek area was dotted with t ...

. He became defensive backs coach of the

Catawba Indians The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' (Catawba: '' Ye Iswąˀ'' – "people of the river"), are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. Their current lands ar ...

Catawba College Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its c ...

in 2015.

Personal life

Smith's father also played football for the Tennessee State Tigers. NFL player

Richard Dent Richard Lamar Dent (born December 13, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Chicago Bears. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XX. He was elected to t ...

is Ahmaad's godfather.

References

External links

Tennessee State profile

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ahmaad Living people 1983 births American football defensive backs American men's basketball players Canadian football defensive backs BC Lions players Catawba Indians football coaches Hampden–Sydney Tigers football coaches Iowa Barnstormers players Mississippi MudCats players Pittsburgh Power players Tennessee State Tigers football coaches Tennessee State Tigers football players Tennessee State Tigers basketball players Texas Copperheads players Toronto Argonauts players High school football coaches in Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football African-American basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people