Education
Smith attended Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. He finished with 1,265 rushing yards and 18 TDs on 176 attempts as senior in 2012 to go with 10 receptions for 66 yards and two more TDs.
Career
He played college football at Notre Dame. Defensively, he recorded 72 tackles (43 solo), 19.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven pass deflections. In basketball, he played as a freshman, sophomore and junior, and was teammates with former Ohio State star Deshaun Thomas.
In track & field, Smith competed in events ranging from the relays to the shot put as a senior.
At the 2013 IHSAA T&F Sectional, he took fourth in the shot put, with a Puerto Rico of 14.81 meters (48 ft 6 in), and ran the lead leg on first-place 4x100m (4343) and fourth leg on second-place 4×400m (3:2708). At the 2013 SAC T&F Meet, he anchored the Bishop Luers" 4×100m relay team, winning the event with a time of 42.91 seconds, and the 4×400m, which finished in third place, while also placing third in the shot put (47 ft 5 in) and eight in the 400-meter dash (5346 s).
Recruiting
Smith signed his letter of intent on February 6, 2013 and committed to attend and play football at the University of Notre Dame. He is considered the best outside linebacker recruit of his class by Rivals.com and Scout.com.
He played in the 2013 United States. Army All-American Bowl.
Freshman
Starting all 13 games, he recorded 67 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, one forced fumble, three pass break ups and one interception. His best game came in a 34–30 victory against Arizona State, where he recorded nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss. He notched his first career interception against University of Southern California on a pass thrown by Cody Kessler.
Sophomore
With the arrival of new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, he was moved to an inside linebacker position.
He was one of three players to start all 13 games on defense, recording 112 tackles, including nine for loss, and 3.5 sacks, adding two pass breakups and one forced fumble. Junior
During the Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, Smith suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and left the game.
lieutenant was confirmed that the knee was diagnosed with tears to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament and LCL. He underwent successful knee surgery on both ligaments on January 7, 2016, and luckily, there was no nerve damage. On January 11, 2016, Smith announced he would forego his remaining eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL draft.
Views
During his junior year in 2015, Smith played in all 13 games with 115 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one sack, five passes defended, two fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble.