Jimmy Smith, who led nearby Cedar Grove H.S. to two Georgia state championships before spending the last six seasons coaching running backs at the Power Four level, returned to Atlanta in 2026 as Georgia Tech’s running backs coach.
Smith comes to The Flats after two seasons as running backs coach at TCU (2024-25). His collegiate coaching experience also includes four seasons as the running backs coach at Arkansas (2020-23) and a season as RB coach at Georgia State (2019).
Before making the move to the collegiate level, Smith established himself as one of Georgia’s top high school coaches in 12 seasons at Cedar Grove H.S., including the final six (2013-18) as the Saints’ head coach. In his six seasons as head coach, he led the Saints to a 67-14-1 overall record, two Georgia 3A state championships in 2016 and 2018 – the first two state titles in Cedar Grove history – and state semifinal berths in 2015 and 2017.
Smith played quarterback at Tennessee State. He graduated from Fayetteville State with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2002 and earned a master’s degree in education from Georgia State in 2009.
He and his wife, Quanisha, have two children – a son, Jermaine II, and a daughter, Joss.
| THE JIMMY SMITH FILE | ||
| PERSONAL | ||
| Hometown | Darlington, S.C. | |
| Alma Mater | Fayetteville State, 2002 (B.S. – business administration); Georgia State, 2009 (M.S. – education) | |
| Family | Wife: Quanisha; son: Jermaine II; daughter: Joss | |
| PLAYING EXPERIENCE | ||
| 1998-99 | Tennessee State (QB) | |
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | ||
| 2005 | Darlington (S.C.) H.S. | Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks |
| 2007-09 | Cedar Grove (Ga.) H.S. | Receivers and defensive backs |
| 2010-12 | Cedar Grove (Ga.) H.S. | Offensive coordinator |
| 2013-18 | Cedar Grove (Ga.) H.S. | Head coach |
| 2019 | Georgia State | Running backs |
| 2020-22 | Arkansas | Running backs |
| 2023 | Arkansas | Assistant head coach/running backs |
| 2024-25 | TCU | Running backs |
| CAREER HIGHLIGHTS | ||
| 1998 | Tennessee State | Ohio Valley Conference champion, NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, No. 12 final national ranking (I-AA) |
| 1999 | Tennessee State | Ohio Valley Conference champion, NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, No. 11 final national ranking (I-AA) |
| 2015 | Cedar Grove H.S. | Georgia 3A state semifinals |
| 2016 | Cedar Grove H.S. | Georgia 3A state champion |
| 2017 | Cedar Grove H.S. | Georgia 3A state semifinals |
| 2018 | Cedar Grove H.S. | Georgia 3A state champion |
| 2019 | Georgia State | Arizona Bowl |
| 2021 | Arkansas | Outback Bowl champion, No. 21 final national ranking |
| 2022 | Arkansas | Liberty Bowl champion |
| 2024 | TCU | New Mexico Bowl champion |
| 2025 | TCU | Alamo Bowl champion |
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Jimmy Smith, who led nearby Cedar Grove H.S. to two Georgia state championships before spending the last six seasons coaching running backs at the Power Four level, returned to Atlanta in 2026 as Georgia Tech’s running backs coach.
Smith comes to The Flats after two seasons as running backs coach at TCU (2024-25), where he helped lead the Horned Frogs to consecutive bowl berths.
Prior to his two-season stint at TCU, Smith spent four seasons as the running backs coach at Arkansas (2020-23). The Razorbacks finished in the top 10 nationally in rushing twice in Smith’s four seasons at Arkansas – No. 2 in 2022 (236.7 ypg) and No. 7 in 2021 (227.8 ypg). The Razorbacks’ 113 runs of 10-plus yards in 2021 led all Power Five conference teams.
Smith’s first season coaching at the collegiate level came in Atlanta as the running backs coach at Georgia State in 2019. In his first game at GSU, the Panthers ran for 213 yards in a 38-30 win at Tennessee, Georgia State’s first-ever triumph over a Power Five opponent.
Smith established himself as one of Georgia’s top high school coaches in 12 seasons at Cedar Grove H.S., including the final six (2013-18) as the Saints’ head coach, in addition to serving as athletics director and track and field head coach. In his six seasons as football head coach, he led the Saints to a 67-14-1 overall record, two Georgia 3A state championships in 2016 and 2018 – the first two state titles in Cedar Grove history – and state semifinal berths in 2015 and 2017. While making four-straight appearances in the state semifinals, Cedar Grove won 51 games over the four-season span from 2015-18.
In recognition of his achievements at the helm at Cedar Grove, Smith was named the Georgia 3A State Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2018 and earned multiple region and county coach-of-the-year awards. He coached six all-Americans and more than 30 student-athletes that went on to play at the collegiate level.
In addition to his exploits as Cedar Grove’s football coach, he also led the Saints to four-straight state championships in track and field (2015-18 – the first track and field state titles in school history) and was named the 2018 Region 5-3A Athletics Director of the Year.
Prior to being elevated to head coach at Cedar Grove, Smith served as the Saints’ wide receivers and defensive backs coach from 2007-09 and offensive coordinator from 2010-12.
He began his coaching career at his high school alma mater, Darlington (S.C.) H.S., where he served as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2005.
Smith played collegiately at Tennessee State where, as a quarterback, he helped lead TSU to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference championships, NCAA Division I-AA playoff berths and top-15 final national rankings in 1998 and 1999.
He graduated from Fayetteville State with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2002 and earned a master’s degree in education from Georgia State in 2009.
Smith and his wife, Quanisha, have two children – a son, Jermaine II, and a daughter, Joss.