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Ivy League Championships: 2015, 2016
Recruiting Areas: California (Long Beach, San Diego, Orange County, Fresno, Sacramento Areas), Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania (Bucks County, Lehigh Valley, Wayne, Potter County Areas), South Dakota, Wisconsin
Jeff Smart enters his fourth year as Outside Linebackers Coach for the Quakers in 2018.
In 2017, Smart coached Jay Cammon, Jr. to honorable mention All-Ivy status as the converted safety ranked No. 3 on the team in tackles (50) and tied for the team lead with three forced fumbles -- tied for No. 14 among all FCS players.
2016 saw Smart coach his second Ivy League championship team, and guided freshman Connor Jangro to All-Ivy honors -- Penn's first freshman to earn All-Ivy distinction since 2009.
In 2015, Smart was part of an Ivy League championship and helped coach a defense which was second in the Ivy League and No. 8 among FCS programs in turnover margin in 2015, picking off 14 passes and recovering 11 fumbles to help Penn finish +1.00. The Red and Blue led the Ivy League and were No. 13 nationally in sacks-per-game with 2.9.
Smart's outside linebackers were a big part of the 2015 championship, led by Tyler Drake. The 2015 Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipient as Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Drake was a finalist for STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year and a third-team AP and STATS FCS All-American. His 2015 campaign was one of the finest in program history as he led the Ivy League in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles. In addition to Drake, Donald Panciello was named honorable mention All-Ivy from the linebacker position.
Prior to Penn, Smart served as Columbia’s Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning from July 2013 to January 2014 before being promoted to linebackers coach. Previously, he was the defensive graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Colorado, coaching the outside linebackers.
At Colorado, Smart assisted Brian Cabral with the linebackers along with general overall duties with the defense.
Originally a walk-on at Colorado, Smart finished his career with 291 tackles. As a senior, he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from both the Associated Press and the league coaches, along with first-team All-Colorado honors from the state's NFF chapter. A team captain, he won the Dave Jones Award as his teammates selected him as the defensive most valuable player for the season.
As a junior, he was a second team All-Big 12 performer (Associated Press), and was first team All-Colorado. In racking up 118 tackles (80 solo), he became just the third former walk-on in school history to lead the team in tackles. He was placed on scholarship during the 2007 season, when he initiated a streak of what would become 33 straight games in the starting lineup.
Smart graduated from Colorado in December 2009 with a degree in Sociology.
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