Smith was born on July 27, 1999, in Snellville, Georgia, and attended South Gwinnett High School.
Smith became a starter at cornerback early into his freshman season at Minnesota.
[3] He finished the season with 43 tackles, one interception, and eight passes broken up.
[4] Smith saw limited playing time as a backup over the next two seasons after Benjamin St-Juste transferred into the program and became an immediate starter.
He entered his redshirt junior year as a starter but was benched halfway through the season[5] Smith regained his starting spot as a senior and finished the season with 38 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks with two interceptions and five passes broken up.