In his first year with the Valdosta State football team, Dwight Smith serves as the defensive line coach for the Blazers, a position he is well suited to fullfill after both playing and coaching the position on the collegiate level the last seven years.
Smith spent the last three seasons as a defensive line assistant for NCAA Division I Middle Tennessee State, first as a student assistant and then two years as a graduate assistant. While at MTSU, Smith tutored under former Blazer defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen.
As a graduate assistant, Smith, worked with the defensive tackles and the defensive ends, primarily teaching the pass rush. He was also responsible for breaking down opponent's game film to created weekly reports detailing the opponent's offense. He organized the scout teams and recruited the Kansas and Central California junior colleges as well as prep schools. On game days, he was responsible for the defensive line substitutions and signaled in defensive line play calls.
In his one season as a student assistant, Smith ran defensive tackle drill during practice and was responsible for the scout team's wide receivers.
Prior to his coaching days, Smith spent four years as a star on the Middle Tennessee State defensive line. He played in 48 career games and earned 35 starts at defensive tackle. On his career, Smith made 111 tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He was named first team All-Sun Belt Conference in his final season of 2010 while playing on a team that played in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. He was voted a team captain for the 2010 season after leading the squad to the 2009 R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Smith earned his Bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Middle Tennessee State in May of 2012.
