March 22, 2007

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Villanova University head football coach Andy Talley today announced the hiring of Darrius Smith as running backs coach. Smith replaces Apollo Wright who left to become the Special Teams Coach at Florida International University.

"Darrius is terrific addition to our staff," said Talley. "He is very familiar with our conference and has experience in both recruiting and with on field coaching duties. We are excited to have Darrius join the Villanova football family."

Smith comes to Villanova from Northeastern University where he was a three-year assistant. Smith coached the receivers at Northeastern in 2004 before coaching the running backs in 2005 and 2006. His Northeastern recruiting areas included Maryland, Washington, D.C., and the Tidewater Virginia area.

Before his stint at Northeastern, Smith was the running backs coach at James Madison University from 2002-2004. Prior to James Madison, he served one year as a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Idaho.

Smith has also had assistant coaching positions at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, New Mexico Highlands University and Frostburg State University.

As a player, Smith was a three-year starter at defensive back at Frostburg State University. During his playing days, he tallied 15 career interceptions and helped his team to a four-year record of 33-11, including a trip to the NCAA Division III quarterfinal round in 1993. Smith graduated from Frostburg in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a minor in coaching.