YSUsports.com - Assistant Coach Antoine Smith

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Antoine Smith
Assistant Coach
Third Season
(Maine, 2001)

    Defensive Line Coach Antoine Smith has instilled a no nonsense approach to the program during his first two seasons. That hard-nosed attitude has paid dividends for not only his defensive lineman, but the entire defensive unit.
    In 2007, junior defensive tackle Mychal Savage was a third-team All-American while earning first-team All-Gateway honors. Defensive end Myles Banford was a second-team all-conference pick while redshirt freshman Torrance Nicholson was an honorable-mention all-league pick and was named to the Gateway's All-Newcomer squad. It marked the second consecutive year the Penguins had multiple players earn all-league accolades.
    His charges had 32 tackles for losses totaling 153 yards, including 17 sacks for 122 yards lost. Savage led the way with 43 total tackles and 4.5 sacks.
    In 2006, YSU had two players earn first-team All-Gateway honors as it reached the playoff for the first time since 2000. Savage and Jim Phelan earned first-team accolades as the front-line stoppers on defense. It was the first time since 2000 that a YSU interior defensive lineman was named All-Gateway.
    For the season, Savage was credited with 54 tackles, including three sacks, while Phelan had 43 stops, including 8.5 tackles for losses. As a unit, the defense led the Gateway and ranked 14th nationally in turnover margin. His lineman had 19.5 tackles for losses during the year.
    Smith came to Youngstown State after spending two successful seasons coaching the defensive line at Lafayette. Smith made a tremendous impact for the Leopards, as the school reached the playoffs and shared two Patriot League titles during his brief time with the program and Coach Frank Tavani.
    In 2005, the Leopards' defense placed in the top 30 nationally in four categories. Lafayette ranked ninth in I-AA in scoring defense (17.0 points per game), 11th in total defense (296.9 yards per game), 19th in pass defense (166.9 yards per game) and 28th in rush defense (130.0 yards per game).
    The Leopards, who finished 8-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference -- sharing the crown with Colgate, led the league in scoring and total defense. Helping lead the way were defensive ends Marvin Snipes and Andrew Brown. Snipes was a first-team All-Patriot League selection while Brown was drafted by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 2006 CFL Draft.
    Lafayette advanced to the playoffs as an at-large selection losing to eventual National Champion Appalachian State, 34-23 in the first round.
    In his first year with the Leopards in 2004, they made their first Division I-AA playoff appearance in school history and won their first conference crown in 10 years. En route to finishing 8-4 and sharing the league title with Lehigh at 5-1, the Leopards allowed 19.1 points per game ranking 18th nationally in that category.
   In the postseason, the Leopards lost to Delaware, 28-14 in the first round.
   Snipes and Brown set the tone with their fly-to-the-ball style and emerged as playmakers for the team. They accounted for 8.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles between them.
    Before moving on to Lafayette, Smith spent the 2003 season as the defensive line coach at Maine for Coach Jack Cosgrove. The Black Bears finished with a 7-5 mark while Smith's entire front-line unit received All-Atlantic 10 accolades. For UM, Valdamar Brower was named to the first team, Dennis Dottin-Carter was named second team and Dan Joslyn and Pat Pa'u were named to the third team.
    Smith spent the 2002 season as the defensive line coach and strength and conditioning enhancement coordinator at Minot State in North Dakota. He helped guide Minot State to the 2002 Dakota Athletic Conference championship, a 9-2 record and a berth in the NAIA playoffs, the Beavers' first since 1994. He helped defensive end Ian Best earn first-team All-DAC accolades and honorable-mention NAIA All-America honors.
    A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Smith spent one season as the defensive coordinator at Fowler High School in his hometown upon graduating from Maine. While in Syracuse, he was a secondary education instructor for the City School District.
    He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education and kinesiology in 2001 from Maine and his Master's degree from Minot State in 2004. During his undergraduate academic career he worked as a teaching assistant. He also served as the defensive coordinator at Orono High School while still completing undergraduate work in 2000.
    He was a three-year starter at defensive tackle for Maine and a four-year letterwinner from 1996 through 1999. In his career he played in 38 games, tallying 111 tackles, including 57 solo stops, for the Black Bears.
     In high school, he was a three-time captain at Fowler. As a senior he led the team with 118 tackles, also finishing with a team-high 96 as a junior. Smith was also a standout wrestler, winning three state championships in both freestyle and Greco Roman. Prior to enrolling at Maine, he attended Maine Central Institute prep school.