University of Arizona Athletics

Rod Smith enters his sixth season with the Wildcats, serving on head coach Rich Rodriguez’s staff as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He joined the staff in December 2011 following one season in the same position at Indiana. A former Rodriguez signal caller himself, he brings some 21 years of experience to the position and has coached in nine bowl games.

During Smith’s tenure in Tucson, Arizona has established the school’s single-game records for team scoring, total offense and rushing offense. Despite a new starting quarterback in each of the first three seasons in Tucson, Smith’s passing attack produced two of the top six single-season passing averages in school history. Anu Solomon completed a three-year playing career in 2016 with the third-most passing touchdowns and fourth-most passing yards in UA history.

The 2014 season saw the beginning of a successful career for the young Solomon. He became the first freshman ever to start a season opener for Arizona and went on to throw for 3,793 yards with 28 passing touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He owns the UA freshman records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts (540) and pass completions (313). He threw five touchdown passes in two games and led FBS freshman quarterbacks in total passing yards.

Under Smith’s guidance, fifth-year senior B.J. Denker started and played all 13 games at quarterback in 2013 after playing in six games in 2012. He threw for 2,516 yards, completing 233 of 381 attempts with just seven interceptions. He threw for 16 scores to eight different receivers and averaged 193.5 passing yards per game with a long throw of 60 yards to Terrence Miller in Arizona’s road win at California.

Denker also rushed for 949 yards on 181 attempts with 13 scores and recorded a long carry of 54 yards in the Wildcats’ road win at Colorado. Also against the Buffs, he amassed 457 yards of total offense (265 passing, 192 rushing), the sixth-highest single-game output in school history, and totaled 192 yards, a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback.

In 2012, Smith inherited a fifth-year senior in quarterback Matt Scott who was perfectly suited to run the Wildcat offense. With Scott as signal caller, Arizona was 7-5 as he orchestrated come-from-behind wins against No. 10 USC and Nevada in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. Earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors, Scott led the conference in yards per game with 301.7 and ranked No. 2 in the league in total yardage.

UA led the Pac-12 in total offense for four straight weeks (weeks 6-9) and ranked as high as fourth nationally in weeks three, seven and nine. Arizona’s offensive triple-threat attack featured a 3,000-yard passer (Scott - 3,620 yards), a 1,500-yard rusher (Ka’Deem Carey - 1,929 yards) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Austin Hill - 1,364 yards).

Smith coached quarterbacks under Rodriguez at Michigan from 2008 to 2010 and at West Virginia in 2007. He helped develop two of the most explosive signal callers in Rodriguez’ offensive system, WVU’s Pat White and Michigan’s Denard Robinson.

Smith was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Florida in 2005 and 2006 after starting on the staff there as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2001.

Smith began his coaching career as offensive coordinator at Franklin High School in West Virginia (1997) before joining the college ranks as offensive coordinator at Urbana (Ohio) University (1998-99) and offensive coordinator at West Virginia Tech (2000).

He also spent time as a graduate assistant at Clemson in 2001, working with offensive coordinator Rodriguez and relocated with Rodriguez as a graduate assistant member of the coach’s initial staff at WVU for a few months before taking a full time position at USF.

He played under Rodriguez as a quarterback at Glenville State from 1993-96, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1997. He was an All-American and team captain his senior year.

Smith received a master’s degree from Urbana University (Ohio) in 2000. He and his wife, Charlene, have a son, Alex, and a daughter, Sasha.

Rod Smith File
Hometown: Franklin, W. Va.
College: Glenville St., 1997
Family: Wife, Charlene; Children Alex and Sasha
Years in Coaching: 20
Years at Arizona: 5
Primary Recruiting Areas: San Diego, Orlando, Western Arizona JUCOs