Ahmaad Smith (born February 28, 1983) is an

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

coach and former

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 football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well". Sever ...

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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He is the quality control coordinator for

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, a position he has held since 2024. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 Tennes ...

. He was also a member of the Mississippi MudCats, Texas Copperheads, Team Tennessee,

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

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

and

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team belonged to the East Division (AFL), East Division of the American Conference in the Arena Football League. Founded in 2010, the Power was t ...

. Smith appeared on

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football player. He played his entire 12-year career as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, h ...

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

Early life

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) an ...

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) is 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 Texas Copperheads 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 r ...

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

(AAFL) with the 218th pick in the 2008 AAFL Draft 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; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(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 f ...

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

. 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 Third ...

Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2013. He was awarded The

Bill Walsh William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast off ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 82,453. The city is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. History In the early 19th century, the Johns Cr ...

. He became defensive backs coach of the Catawba Indians of

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 John Henry Smith also played football for the Tennessee State Tigers and drafted to the Cleveland Browns. 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 the Super Bowl XX. He was elected ...

is Ahmaad's godfather.

References

External links

Tennessee State profile

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ahmaad Living people 1983 births 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee Players of Canadian football from Tennessee Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee Coaches of American football from Tennessee African-American coaches of American football American football defensive backs American men's basketball players Canadian football defensive backs Tennessee State Tigers football players Tennessee State Tigers basketball players Mississippi MudCats players Texas Copperheads players BC Lions players Toronto Argonauts players Iowa Barnstormers players Pittsburgh Power players Hampden–Sydney Tigers football coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Catawba Indians football coaches Minnesota Vikings coaches Tennessee State Tigers football coaches Cincinnati Bengals coaches Dartmouth Big Green football coaches Rice Owls football coaches High school football coaches in Georgia (U.S. state)