Florida A&M football struck gold by hiring Ryan Smith as its linebackers coach, recruiting coordinator, director of player personnel in 2018 as part of Willie Simmons' original coaching staff.

Since, Smith has been promoted to the team's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator where he is the orchestrator of the Dark Cloud Defense.

Smith, from Perry, graduated and played football at Valdosta State as a defensive line letterman. His coaching career also begin with the Blazers as a student assistant in 1999.

He then went on to become a high school head coach at Gainesville, Deland, and his alma mater, Taylor County.

MORE RATTLERNEWS COVERAGE

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Smith is a championship winning coach, helping Alabama win the 2015-16 national championship over Clemson as the offensive quality control coach under Nick Saban.

After leaving the Crimson Tide, he joined the University of Florida to become the Gators' assistant recruiting coordinator under former head coach Jim McElwain from 2016-18.

Game Information

Who: Florida A&M (6-2, 4-1 SWAC) vs. Southern (5-3, 3-2 SWAC)

When: Saturday, at 6 p.m. ET

Where: Bragg Memorial Stadium

Broadcast/Radio: ESPN3, Rattler Sports Network

Gerald Thomas III covers FAMU athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

Follow the Tallahassee Democrat on social media at Tallahassee Democrat (Facebook), TallahasseeDemocrat (Instagram), and @TDOnline (Twitter)

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: RattlerNews Podcast: FAMU Asst. HC/DC/LB coach joins the show