smith attended james s. rickards high school in tallahassee, florida, where he was a two-sport star, excelling in football and track. as a junior, he finished ninth at the florida state track meet in the 110 metre hurdles. on the football field, smith earned team mvp, first team all-district and honorable mention all-state honors during his junior and senior campaigns. after starting at fullback as a sophomore, blocking for all-american running back michael fisher who ran for more than 2,000 yards and 30 scores, smith played on both sides of the ball as a junior, notching 105 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles while also rushing for 947 yards and 10 touchdowns on 88 carries. in his senior year, he tallied over 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning first team all-big bend area honors.