RENO, Nev. - Nevada Football head coach Jeff Choate announced NFL veteran and former All-Big 12 standout Jacquies Smith to the Wolf Pack staff, Tuesday. Smith will oversee Nevada's defensive ends.

Smith, who did private training with top draft prospects following his NFL career, comes most recently from Texas, where he has served as assistant edge coach. He is the third member of Choate's defensive staff, following last week's announcements of defensive coordinator Kane Ioane and special teams coordinator/linebackers coach Parker Henry.

"One of the hallmarks of this Nevada staff is that, with rare exception, these are people that I know personally, have worked with as a coach, or have coached them during my career. I pick my coaches on character first. This was very important as I put this first group together. They know me, I know them, and we know how we communicate in order to get this thing off the ground. This will accelerate the timeline of what we want to accomplish at Nevada," Choate said about his Nevada staff.
"This staff is a really good mix of experience both as players and as coaches. It is a good mix of veteran coaches and young up-and-comers. This will create good energy on staff, and our players will really connect with these men."

Nevada Football will continue to announce its staff additions this week.

Jacquies Smith – Defensive Ends
NFL veteran Jacquies Smith joins Choate's Nevada staff in 2023, and will oversee the very position at which he was named All-Big 12 while at Missouri: defensive ends.

Choate on Smith: "I got to know Jacquies very well this year, as he joined our Texas staff. He had a decorated career at Missouri and played in the NFL, then went on to do draft prep and run his own private business. He has a great reputation as a pass-rush specialist, and he's done outstanding work with our guys at Texas. The production of our edges has gone ridiculously through the roof under his tutelage, and if we can affect a quarterback that makes our life a lot easier. Jacquies is a phenomenal person, as technical as can be in the skills he brings to the table, and he will be a mentor to our young men. He is a home run hire for us, and will be able to connect us with the fertile recruiting grounds of south Dallas and Texas."

Smith has spent the 2023 campaign as an assistant edge coach at Texas, helping tutor a unit that contributed to the Longhorn defense topping the Big 12 in sacks (2.46 per game) and ranking second in tackles-for-loss (6.3 TFL per game). Ethan Burke, an edge, led the team in sacks totaling 5.5 sacks, to go along with 8.5 TFL's with 35 tackles. Barryn Sorrell, playing the opposite edge, is tied for fourth on the team with 4.0 sacks, along with 4.5 TFL among his 34 tackles, with 10 quarterback hurries heading into Jan. 1's Sugar Bowl. Both were Honorable Mention All-Big 12 players.

"Words cannot express how grateful I and my family are to be joining the Wolf Pack nation. Being under the leadership of Coach Choate who brings a level of determination, passion, and integrity that anybody would want to follow," Smith said.

Following a four-year career (2008-11) for the Tigers during which he was a two-time All-Big 12 selection, a team captain and named defensive lineman of the year, Smith signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent, and spent 2012 summer camp with the team.

After two years of being on the practice squad with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills from 2012-2013, Smith made his NFL debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014, starting seven of the 15 games in which he appeared, and recording 6.5 sacks with a fumble recovery. The following season, he started 11 games and made seven sacks, with three fumble recoveries one of which he took in for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Smith would appear in 37 games with four teams (Tampa Bay, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders) from 2014-19.

Once retired in 2019, Smith began specialized pre-draft training for draft-eligible players and had the opportunity to work with 2022 top-overall draft pick Travon Walker, Will Anderson Jr. (third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft), Christian Harris, Nakobe Dean, Terrel Bernard, SirVocea Dennis, and many more.