If you take a gander at the resume of Colorado inside linebackers coach Mark Smith, you'll immediately notice that a lengthy portion of it was spent in Texas.
Smith, who was formally announced by Karl Dorrell as the Buffs' new ILBs coach in early February, joined his staff in Boulder from Long Island University in New York, where he was defensive coordinator.
LIU, an FCS-level football program, did not play a fall season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Smith joined the Buffaloes before the Sharks took the field for their abbreviated spring season earlier this month.
Previously, Smith coached at Arkansas but the near entirety of his coaching career before the Razorbacks came in the state of Texas.
Smith was at Southern Methodist from 2015-2017, serving as an offensive assistant and defensive analyst, while overseeing the Mustangs' recruiting efforts the whole time.
From 2009-2014, he coached within the Texas high school ranks at L.D. Bell in the Dallas/Ft. Worth suburbs. His preps career in the Lone Star State also saw him wet his feet from an administrative perspective, as he served on the board of directors for the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) and also served as president of the North Texas Football Coaches Association.
Since arriving in Boulder, Smith's presence in Texas and helping Colorado recruit the area he knows so intimately has not been hard to see.
When the bulk of Colorado's Class of 2021 arrives in Boulder this summer, the Buffs will have 22 scholarship players hailing from Texas, good for approximately 25% of the total (89) players on scholarship at CU right now.
Given Colorado's strong recruiting presence in Texas coupled with Smith's own history there at the preps and collegiate level, he's excited to bolster the Buffs down there.
"You can tell how our roster is built and where the footprint of the university (is)," he said. "I knew that Texas was a part of that and I’ve got a lot of experience and can help. Not that they need help — they’ve done a great job at Colorado — but I’m just glad to be another resource (in Texas), especially coaching as long as I did as a high school coach in that state an the connections I built being on the (THSCA) board of directors down there and the access that that allows in the schools, I think that is important."
One prospect in particular Smith has been working on is Southlake Carroll cornerback Avyonne Jones, a three-star prospect that has done a few virtual visits with the Buffs already.
Wideout Jerrale Powers and athlete Pierre Goree, both out of Duncanville High School, are also Lone Star State prospects to have received their Colorado offers courtesy of Smith.
Given his extensive history of coaching in Texas and the fact that Smith grew up in-state, as well, he envisions himself being able to lend a significant hand to area recruiters Darrin Chiaverini and Darian Hagan as well as Colorado in general in landing more Texas prospects.
"I know throughout the process so far I’ve been able to be a good resource for our entire staff," he said. "...I think it definitely helps in what we’re doing and it’s an easy conversation piece when you’re talking to a young man on the phone, if you’ve got some familiarity with where they are, where they go to school or maybe their coach."
Aside from getting things going from a recruiting perspective, Smith has enjoyed getting to know the group of inside linebackers that he'll be overseeing, beginning Monday.
While Nate Landman won't be participating in spring practices, as he continues to rehab his ruptured Achilles tendon suffered late last year vs. Utah, Smith is preparing to see what the rest of the bunch can do.
The ILBs at his disposal include transfers Robert Barnes and Jack Lamb, freshmen Mister Williams, Marvin Ham and the newly-arrived Zephaniah Maea and juniors Quinn Perry and Jon Van Diest.
Smith indicated that he's taking his room into spring with nothing guaranteed in terms of placement on the depth chart.
"I’ve told them that this is an eyes-wide-open (situation) for me," he said. "We don’t have any starters going into this during the spring. We’re going to rotate guys and play guys at both inside backer spots and cross training, but I’m excited to see what they do and what their strengths are.”
With Colorado's first spring practice set to begin Monday afternoon, Smith is eager to see what his players can do on the field. Already, he thinks the group has the right collective character and attitudes that will translate well onto the gridiron.
“I feel like I have a good group of human beings in the room, first and foremost, and usually when they’re good human beings and do things the right way, we can get them on the football field, let them turn loose and play ball," Smith said. "It’s usually a good combination.”
.....
Spring ball is right around the corner and ILB definitely is an area of concern for the Buffs, with Landman's status continuing to be clouded (in terms of when he'll be back to full health) as well as filling in the spot that the dependable Akil Jones vacated when hitting the portal.
Two ILB-related questions I'm ready to ask as spring ball gets underway are: 1) is Lamb's hip still a nagging concern for him or are we past that at this point? and 2) where exactly is Barnes going to factor into the equation because he's listed as an ILB but was moved around a lot at Oklahoma.
From there. it'll be time to evaluate the progress of Williams, see what Maea has got to offer and hope that JVD and Quinn Perry have both refined their abilities.
As for the recruiting part of the equation, I think Smith will turn out to be a big asset. Excited to see the first fish he helps reel in.
Smith, who was formally announced by Karl Dorrell as the Buffs' new ILBs coach in early February, joined his staff in Boulder from Long Island University in New York, where he was defensive coordinator.
LIU, an FCS-level football program, did not play a fall season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Smith joined the Buffaloes before the Sharks took the field for their abbreviated spring season earlier this month.
Previously, Smith coached at Arkansas but the near entirety of his coaching career before the Razorbacks came in the state of Texas.
Smith was at Southern Methodist from 2015-2017, serving as an offensive assistant and defensive analyst, while overseeing the Mustangs' recruiting efforts the whole time.
From 2009-2014, he coached within the Texas high school ranks at L.D. Bell in the Dallas/Ft. Worth suburbs. His preps career in the Lone Star State also saw him wet his feet from an administrative perspective, as he served on the board of directors for the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) and also served as president of the North Texas Football Coaches Association.
Since arriving in Boulder, Smith's presence in Texas and helping Colorado recruit the area he knows so intimately has not been hard to see.
When the bulk of Colorado's Class of 2021 arrives in Boulder this summer, the Buffs will have 22 scholarship players hailing from Texas, good for approximately 25% of the total (89) players on scholarship at CU right now.
Given Colorado's strong recruiting presence in Texas coupled with Smith's own history there at the preps and collegiate level, he's excited to bolster the Buffs down there.
"You can tell how our roster is built and where the footprint of the university (is)," he said. "I knew that Texas was a part of that and I’ve got a lot of experience and can help. Not that they need help — they’ve done a great job at Colorado — but I’m just glad to be another resource (in Texas), especially coaching as long as I did as a high school coach in that state an the connections I built being on the (THSCA) board of directors down there and the access that that allows in the schools, I think that is important."
One prospect in particular Smith has been working on is Southlake Carroll cornerback Avyonne Jones, a three-star prospect that has done a few virtual visits with the Buffs already.
Wideout Jerrale Powers and athlete Pierre Goree, both out of Duncanville High School, are also Lone Star State prospects to have received their Colorado offers courtesy of Smith.
Given his extensive history of coaching in Texas and the fact that Smith grew up in-state, as well, he envisions himself being able to lend a significant hand to area recruiters Darrin Chiaverini and Darian Hagan as well as Colorado in general in landing more Texas prospects.
"I know throughout the process so far I’ve been able to be a good resource for our entire staff," he said. "...I think it definitely helps in what we’re doing and it’s an easy conversation piece when you’re talking to a young man on the phone, if you’ve got some familiarity with where they are, where they go to school or maybe their coach."
Aside from getting things going from a recruiting perspective, Smith has enjoyed getting to know the group of inside linebackers that he'll be overseeing, beginning Monday.
While Nate Landman won't be participating in spring practices, as he continues to rehab his ruptured Achilles tendon suffered late last year vs. Utah, Smith is preparing to see what the rest of the bunch can do.
The ILBs at his disposal include transfers Robert Barnes and Jack Lamb, freshmen Mister Williams, Marvin Ham and the newly-arrived Zephaniah Maea and juniors Quinn Perry and Jon Van Diest.
Smith indicated that he's taking his room into spring with nothing guaranteed in terms of placement on the depth chart.
"I’ve told them that this is an eyes-wide-open (situation) for me," he said. "We don’t have any starters going into this during the spring. We’re going to rotate guys and play guys at both inside backer spots and cross training, but I’m excited to see what they do and what their strengths are.”
With Colorado's first spring practice set to begin Monday afternoon, Smith is eager to see what his players can do on the field. Already, he thinks the group has the right collective character and attitudes that will translate well onto the gridiron.
“I feel like I have a good group of human beings in the room, first and foremost, and usually when they’re good human beings and do things the right way, we can get them on the football field, let them turn loose and play ball," Smith said. "It’s usually a good combination.”
.....
Spring ball is right around the corner and ILB definitely is an area of concern for the Buffs, with Landman's status continuing to be clouded (in terms of when he'll be back to full health) as well as filling in the spot that the dependable Akil Jones vacated when hitting the portal.
Two ILB-related questions I'm ready to ask as spring ball gets underway are: 1) is Lamb's hip still a nagging concern for him or are we past that at this point? and 2) where exactly is Barnes going to factor into the equation because he's listed as an ILB but was moved around a lot at Oklahoma.
From there. it'll be time to evaluate the progress of Williams, see what Maea has got to offer and hope that JVD and Quinn Perry have both refined their abilities.
As for the recruiting part of the equation, I think Smith will turn out to be a big asset. Excited to see the first fish he helps reel in.
