Terry M. Smith (born July 29, 1969) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player. He is the associate

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

s coach for

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, a position he has held since 2021. He played college football for

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Early life

Originally from

Aliquippa, Pa Aliquippa is the largest city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located on the Ohio River about northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,238 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part ...

,Harris, Joh
"Ex-Gateway coach Smith mining for talent in Western Pa."
''Trib Live'', September 24, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2018. Smith and his family moved to

Monroeville, Pa Monroeville is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is located about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh. Monroeville is a suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments. As of the 2020 census, Monroeville was ho ...

where he was a star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the Gateway Gators. Smith led the Gators to back-to-back

WPIAL The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western Pennsylvania Inte ...

football titles in 1985 and 1986. Considered one of the greatest WPIAL championships ever played, the 1986 game featured an undefeated Gateway team and a North Hills team that was ranked No. 1 by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. Smith scored Gateways only touchdown as they defeated North Hills 7–6.

College career

Nicknamed Superfly, Smith, was a four-year

letter winner In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team. Overview The term comes from the practice of awarding each such parti ...

from 1988–91 with the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

who still ranks among the schools’ best with 108 career receptions and 15 receiving touchdowns.Martin, Chri
"Airing it out"
''

The Daily Collegian The ''Daily Collegian'' is a student-produced news outlet, with a newspaper and website, that is published independently at the Pennsylvania State University. The newspaper is printed twice a week during the fall and spring semesters, and once ...

'', September 21, 1991. Retrieved January 27, 2018. During the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

season, posting a

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

time of 4.4 seconds, Smith came up big against

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, grabbing 10 receptions to tie a Penn State single-game mark and gaining 165 yards to set a new school record. His Senior season, Smith broke school records with 55 catches for 846 yards and eight scores, helping Penn State to an 11–2 record and a

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

victory over

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. After breaking the single season receptions record in a game against

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

said about Smith, "I don't know whether there's a better wideout in the country as far as what he does. He catches the ball, he blocks, he runs with the ball, he's in the football game -- he's just a great player."

Professional career

Drafted by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the 11th round of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

, Smith spent the following three seasons with the

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 the

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...

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 ...

. Smith also spent one season with the

Albany Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

of the Arena league in 1996.Wogenrichhttp, Mar
"Smith is a newcomer to Franklin's coaching staff, but not to Penn State"
''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after ''The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its Al ...

'', January 25, 2014. retrieved January 28, 2018.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

In 1996, Smith began his coaching career as an assistant at

Hempfield High School Hempfield High School is a public senior high school located in Salunga-Landisville, Pennsylvania, United States. It serves both East and West Hempfield townships and serves as the only high school for Hempfield School District. Demographics * ...

. From there Smith spent the next four seasons as the passing coordinator for the

Duquesne Dukes The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Dukes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Football and bowling, however ...

. In 2001, Smith returned to his high school alma mater the Gateway Gators where he served as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

. The following season Smith was named as the Gators Head Coach and over the next eleven seasons Smith led Gateway to a 101-30 mark and four

runner-up finishes.Moody, Wal
"Penn State football: New assistant coach Terry Smith glad to be back home"
''

Centre Daily Times The ''Centre Daily Times'' is a daily newspaper located in State College, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the hometown newspaper for State College and the Pennsylvania State University, one of the best-known and largest universities in ...

'', January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2018. In that time Smith sent 23 players to NCAA FBS (I-A) colleges and 17 more to FCS(I-AA) colleges. Smith, who also served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

, departed Gateway following the 2012 football season when his athletic director position was reduced to part-time. His salary was also cut in half and the district instituted a new rule that no administrator could coach. Following a January recruiting visit in 2013, the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and mascot for Temple University since its founding in the 18 ...

coach and fellow Penn State

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...

Matt Rhule Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...

offered Smith a coaching position as his wide receivers coach.

Penn State

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, James Franklin hired Smith as the Penn State Nittany Lions’ defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach, positions he currently maintains.Nelson, Kriste
"Meet the Penn State staff: Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith"
''

Altoona Mirror The ''Altoona Mirror'' is a daily newspaper located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is the hometown newspaper for Altoona and serves all of Blair County as well as parts of surrounding counties. History The newspaper was founded on June 13, 1874 as ...

'', August 15, 2014. retrieved January 30, 2018. During his first season with the Nittany Lions, the defense finished second in total defense, eighth in scoring, second in pass efficiency and sixth in 3rd down conversion percentage nationally. Smith added the title of assistant head coach following the season. Led by sophomore John Reid, who earned All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades, and Grant Haley, the cornerbacks made several key plays to help the Nittany Lions to the

2016 Big Ten Football Championship Game The 2016 Big Ten Football Championship Game was played December 3, 2016 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the sixth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game to determine the 2016 champion of the Big Ten Conference. The 2016 ...

. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Smith's starting cornerbacks,

Christian Campbell Christian Bethune Campbell (born May 12, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Gabriel in the film ''Trick'', Greg Ivey in the television series ''Big Love'' and on stage as Jimmy Harper in the musical ''Reefer Madness''. Ea ...

and Grant Haley, earned All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades, while backup cornerback

Amani Oruwariye Amani Oruwariye (born February 9, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State. Early years Oruwariye lettered for three years at Gaither High ...

earned second team honors. That season the Nittany Lions' defense helped Penn State to its second-straight

New Year's Six The New Year's Six, sometimes abbreviated as NY6, is an unofficial but commonly used term used to describe the following NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl games: the Rose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bo ...

bowl and a Top 10 finish. Also the 16.5 points allowed per game was the fewest since the 2008 team gave up 12.2 per contest. Campbell was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, cornerbacks Amani Oruwariye earned first team All-Big Ten honors, while John Reid received honorable mention. Penn State secondary had one of its best seasons since 2014, finishing the season with 13 interceptions and allowing a 53.6 completion rate. The Nittany Lions also held three opponents to 60 or less yards through the air, this was the first time PSU had accomplished this feat since the 1976 season. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields earned third team All-Big Ten honors. During the 2020 season, Smith was made the lead recruiter for the Philadelphia area. In 2021, Penn State signed its first players from the

Philadelphia Public League The Philadelphia Public League (PPL) is the interscholastic sports league for the public high schools of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The league traces its origin to 1901, with the formation of the Philadelphia Interscholastic League, a conference en ...

to a recruiting class since 2016 and the first

Philadelphia Catholic League The Philadelphia Catholic League is a high school sports league composed (as of the 2012-13 year) of 18 Catholic High Schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs. The league itself was founded in the summer of 1920 on the steps ...

player since 2017.

Personal

Smith received a

Bachelors A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

in business management, from the

. He and his wife, Alison, have a son, former PSU standout Justin King , and daughter, Haley. Smith, is a class of 2018

Hall of Fame inductee.Harlan, Chri
"Gateway trio among WPIAL Hall of Fame class"
''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it rem ...

'', April 12, 2018, retrieved April 15, 2018.

External links

Penn State ProfileTemple ProfileGateway Profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Terry Living people 1969 births People from Monroeville, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American football wide receivers Temple Owls football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches African-American coaches of American football Shreveport Pirates players Albany Firebirds players Canadian football wide receivers 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople