Smith attended Notre Dame High School, where he competed in football, basketball and ran track.

He began his college career playing football at the NCAA Division II level at Northwood University.

After the season, he transferred to Riverside City College in his hometown As a sophomore he started 11 games, registering 88 tackles (second on the team), 13 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions (one returned for a 75-yard touchdown), while helping the team to a perfect 11–0 record and a number 5 national ranking.

For his performances throughout the season, Smith earned Holiday Bowl defensive MVP honors, as well as first-team All-Big 12 Conference selections by the Associated Press and the Big 12 Broadcasters.

[4] On October 10, 2014, he was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to their practice roster.

He was re-signed on August 1, taking the roster spot created by the holdout of defensive end Jeremy Mincey.