Kolby Smith facts for kids

Kolby Kendrall Smith (born December 15, 1984) is an American football coach and former professional player. He used to play as a running back in the NFL. Currently, he is the running backs coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks college team.

Kolby Smith was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. Before that, he played college football at Louisville. He also played for the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. After his playing career, he started coaching at the college level. In 2020, he returned to the NFL as a coach for the Miami Dolphins.

Early Life and High School Sports

Kolby Smith grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. He went to James S. Rickards High School. There, he was a talented athlete in two sports: football and track.

Football Achievements in High School

In football, Kolby was a star player. As a sophomore, he played as a fullback. He helped another great running back, Michael Fisher, gain over 2,000 yards. In his junior year, Kolby played both offense and defense. He made 105 tackles and rushed for 947 yards. He also scored 10 touchdowns. During his senior year, he gained over 1,300 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. For his excellent play, he was named the team's Most Valuable Player (MVP). He also earned first-team All-District and Honorable Mention All-State honors.

Track and Field Success

Kolby also showed his speed and skill in track. As a junior, he placed ninth in the 110-meter hurdles at the Florida state track meet.

Choosing a College

Experts like Rivals.com thought Kolby was a promising player. He was ranked among the top prospects from Florida in 2003. He decided to play college football at Louisville.

College Football Career at Louisville

Kolby Smith played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He showed great skill and improved each year.

Freshman Year (2003)

In his first year, Kolby played in 12 games. He ran for 131 yards and scored one touchdown. He shared carries with other players but had the best average yards per carry on the team. His first college touchdown was against Cincinnati.

Sophomore Year (2004)

As a sophomore, Kolby played in 10 games. He rushed for 347 yards and scored four touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 9.4 yards per rush. His best game was again against Cincinnati, where he scored three touchdowns.

Junior Year (2005)

Even though two other running backs left for the NFL, Kolby was still a backup in 2005. He played behind Michael Bush, who was a top scorer in college football. Kolby still managed to gain 523 yards and score six touchdowns.

Senior Year (2006)

In 2006, Kolby was expected to be a backup again. However, the starting running back, Michael Bush, got a serious leg injury. This made Kolby the main running back. He ran for 697 yards and scored five touchdowns. His best game was against Syracuse, where he rushed for 165 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Professional Football Career

After his successful college career, Kolby Smith hoped to play in the NFL.

NFL Draft and Kansas City Chiefs

Kolby was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He was the 148th player picked overall. He signed a three-year contract with the Chiefs in June 2007.

His first time starting an NFL game was on November 25, 2007. This happened because other running backs were injured or had retired. In that game, he scored his first NFL touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. In December 2009, he was placed on Injured Reserve due to an ankle injury. The Chiefs re-signed him in February 2010 but then released him in June 2010.

Other NFL Teams

After leaving the Chiefs, Kolby briefly joined the Denver Broncos in June 2010. He was released by them in August. Later that month, he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he was released by them in September 2010.

Coaching Career

After his playing days, Kolby Smith began a new career as a football coach.

College Coaching

Kolby started coaching in 2012 as a graduate assistant at Arkansas. In 2013, he became the running backs coach for Western Kentucky. The head coach there, Bobby Petrino, had also been Kolby's coach at Louisville.

In January 2014, Kolby moved with Coach Petrino to Louisville and continued to coach running backs. He stayed at Louisville until 2018. In 2019, he coached running backs at Rutgers.

NFL Coaching

On June 13, 2020, Kolby Smith joined the Miami Dolphins as an offensive quality control coach. This role involves helping the offensive coaches and players with strategy and preparation. He worked with the Dolphins until 2023. In 2024, he returned to the Arkansas Razorbacks as their running backs coach.

Personal Life

Kolby Smith is a cousin of Mike Brown, who was a strong safety for the Chicago Bears in the NFL. Kolby studied Sports Administration when he was at Louisville.