Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith was named to the 30 Under 30 College Football List of 247Sports on Thursday. Smith is in his first season with the Hokies after spending the 2019 campaign coaching safeties and serving as the pro scout liaison at James Madison University. He previously spent two seasons as defensive backs coach at Elon (2017-18) and two years as a graduate assistant at Penn State (2015-16).
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In 2019, James Madison boasted one of the nation's stingiest defenses at the FCS level as the Dukes ranked third in scoring defense (14.9 ppg), first in total defense (264.7 ypg) and second in third-down percentage (29.0%) en route to a berth in the FCS National Championship Game. James Madison also tied for seventh with 17 interceptions, 11 of which came from Smith's safeties unit.
The King George, Virginia native is a 2014 graduate of the College of William & Mary. Smith helped the Tribe to a 2009 FCS semifinals appearance. As a senior cornerback, Smith tallied 47 tackles, one sack and one interception. In total, he played in 22 games for the Tribe and was a two-time CAA Academic All-Conference honoree. He earned his bachelor's degree in process management from the College of William and Mary and a master's degree in educational leadership from Penn State University. Smith is among a long lineage of current coaches who played under Laycock at William & Mary, a distinguished group that includes current NFL head coaches Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh) and Sean McDermott (Buffalo).
Smith was two-year letterwinner as a defensive back and wide receiver for head coach Del Smith at The Blue Ridge School. He served as a team captain during his senior season and was selected to the all-state second team as a wide receiver. Smith also captained his prep basketball and baseball squads, helping the basketball team to a state runner-up finish as a senior and a state semi-finals appearance as a junior.