Missouri State football great DeAndre Smith preps for first training camp as NFL assistant

More than three decades have passed since DeAndre Smith transformed Missouri State football into a Football Championship Subdivision national contender with his dynamic combination of running, passing and leadership.

Since his playing days came to a close and he left the regular 8-to-5 workforce to get into coaching, Smith has had 12 stops as a college assistant at 11 different schools. But now Smith is something of a rookie all over again, preparing for his first National Football League training camp as an assistant coach.

Before he becomes laser-focused when training camp opens in a few weeks, Smith allows himself to reminisce about his football journey from the Missouri State campus to the Big Apple. Being on staff with one of the NFL’s most-storied franchises remains a bit surreal.

“Every day, when I walk into the facility, it’s truly hard to believe,” Smith said of his role as running backs coach for the New York Giants. “It’s a blessing.

“You can see New York City from the practice field. It’s a long way from the Battlefield Mall. Where is Glenstone Avenue? Now I’m looking at Madison Avenue. This is unbelievable.”

Still a proud Bear

The NFL is an exciting, new chapter for one of the most beloved players in Missouri State football history, an all-American at the FCS level in 1989 and 1990 while leading the Bears to conference titles and into the playoffs both years. He was FCS National Offensive Player of the Year as a senior.

During those years, he came to be known simply as “DeAndre” and flashed a charismatic smile as often as he made defenders miss en route to 6,356 yards of total offense in his Bears career. His 40 career touchdowns remain a school record.

Smith said he reflects on those days often, calling it a great time in his life as he led the triple-option offense for Coach Jesse Branch. Later, the native of St. Louis was in the running to become the head coach at his alma mater, first in 2006 when Terry Allen was hired and again in 2015 as Dave Steckel was selected to lead the Bears.

You can wonder how different history would be, for both Smith and the program, had he been hired either time. But there is no bitterness about the snubs. Smith, one of the most-positive athletes I’ve encountered, figured it just wasn’t meant to be and went back about his business of building his coaching resume.

Smith remains a Missouri State fan from afar and lauds the work of Bobby Petrino in turning the Bears into a football force for the first time since he was taking snaps.

“There was no doubt in my mind he was going to get it done,” Smith said of Petrino. “I’m really happy. For the longest time, we’ve been struggling as a football program. Now, we can wear our Missouri State gear proudly and brag a little bit.

“I’m fired up about the job he has done. He’s one of those guys you talk about running a program, and establishing a culture … he’s one of the best who’s ever done it and it’s cool to see he’s doing it at Missouri State.”

Jumping to the NFL was no easy decision

Smith is equally fired up about his opportunity with the Giants, a job that follows what seemed an ideal one. Smith was running backs coach at Texas Tech from 2019 until early this year and was one of only two assistants retained after a head-coaching change last offseason. He had just received a pay hike, to a reported $260,000.

Even better, his son, Donovan, started four games at quarterback for the Red Raiders and could be the full-time starter this fall. Coaching a part of the offense with his son playing QB seemed like a perfect scenario.

But if Smith couldn’t get a head-coaching job in college, an assistant’s job on the professional level intrigued him. Things moved quickly as Smith interviewed with Giants head coach Brian Daboll via Zoom, flew to New York the next day to interview in person and was hired the following day, Feb. 14.

The excitement was tempered a bit. Smith still had to tell Donovan, calling it “one of the toughest conversations I’ve had.”

“I had to call and ask him, ‘how do you feel about it?’ He was like, ‘Daddy, that is the Super Bowl of coaching, that’s awesome.’ He gave me a great compliment when he said, ‘You’re one of the best coaches around. You deserve this.’

“He’s handled the transition well and this gives him the opportunity to grow and spread his wings on his own. He’s doing great.”

With the Giants, it’s been a blur ever since as he gets to know his running back group, which is led by Saquon Barkley.

“You’re dealing with the best of the best,” Smith said of the difference between professional and collegiate coaching. “These guys are really good, really fast and they work. There is maximum effort every single time a guy does a rep or touches a ball.”

Smith said he’s eager to put to use all the knowledge he’s gleaned from coaches over the years, beginning with Branch at Missouri State to others he’s worked for and with, including Joe Novak, Sam Pittman, Matt Canada, Pat Narduzzi and Paul Petrino.

“I’ve worked for a lot of great guys and everybody is a little different, but I’ve been able to carve out my little path in this profession and be myself,” Smith said.

Even if few in the Ozarks are New York Giants fans, it’ll be easy to be a DeAndre Smith fan this fall.

Lyndal Scranton

Lyndal Scranton is a Springfield native who has covered sports in the Ozarks for more than 35 years, witnessing nearly every big sports moment in the region during the last 50 years. The Missouri Sports Hall of Famer, Springfield Area Sports Hall of Famer and live-fire cooking enthusiast also serves as PR Director for Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri and is co-host of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Contact him at Lscranton755@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LyndalScranton. More by Lyndal Scranton

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