He was selected by the Green Bay Packers out of Appalachian State University in the sixth round (186th pick overall) of the 2011 NFL draft.

[2] Smith attended Independence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina,[3] where he started for three years out of four and was part of a team that went undefeated and won four straight state titles.

[3][4] Smith went on to play for the Appalachian State University Mountaineers, where he led the NCAA Division I FCS in active tackles with 525 by the end of his career.

[4] He also became the first Appalachian State player since three-time NFL Pro Bowl nominee Dexter Coakley to have more than 500 tackles in his career.

[3] He was named the Southern Conference Player of the week after a game against Chattanooga after recording 14 tackles and 2 pass break-ups.

[3] He continued on to earn National and Southern Conference Defensive player of the week for his performance against Samford University with 17 tackles, the most by any Mountaineer since his Freshman year.

Continuing the streak, Smith started all 13 games in his final season as a Mountaineer and was once again named a First-team All American by the Sports Network and College Football News.

"[6] Scouts stated that his arms were too small and limited his ability to "grab NFL backs on the way through or get off blocks".

[6] On the positive side, they remarked that Smith was a "Thick, compact linebacker",[6] who often "Scrapes down the line, stays square to get to the ball".

[14] He accepted a position at his alma mater Appalachian State in 2016 as the program's director of recruiting relations.

[18] On December 29, 2024, it was announced that Smith would be returning to his alma mater to serve as the defensive coordinator for the Appalachian State Mountaineers beginning with the 2025 season.