Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers

In the early 1990s, Northwest boasted some of the best offenses in the NJCAA, largely due to the accomplishments of offensive coordinator George Smith.

Smith had a five-year coaching stint on Bobby Franklin's staff from 1991-95, helping the Rangers to the MACJC Playoffs in four of those five seasons. More importantly, he guided Northwest to the 1992 NJCAA Championship with a 34-0 victory over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the Coca-Cola Mid-America Bowl, while also helping the Rangers to back-to-back MACJC titles in 1991 and 1992.

Smith's offenses were some of the best in JUCO football, as the Rangers opened up the passing game. He coached a slew of legendary Northwest quarterbacks, including two-time NJCAA All-American Russell Evans (1991-92), All-MACJC Honorable Mention selection Terrence Samuel (1993) and 1995 MACJC MVP Bryan Sparacino. Aiding Smith's offenses were receivers Eric Smith and Roell Preston, and tailback Lavelle Danzy.

In Smith's first season, Northwest won the conference title and finished as the runner-up to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the 1991 Coca-Cola Mid-America Bowl. The Rangers sported an 11-1-1 record that season and racked up 2,644 yards of passing, averaging 203.4 passing yards per game. On the ground, Northwest finished the season with 2,151 yards and 165.5 yards per game.

Those numbers exploded in the 1992 national championship season, especially through the air. That season, Smith's Northwest offense logged 3,516 passing yards for an average of 270.5 yards per game. The increase in the passing game helped the Rangers rack up 5,685 yards of total offense, up from the 4,795 total in 1991.

Although those numbers slightly decreased the following season, Northwest still passed for over 1,600 yards in 1993. The following two seasons, Smith had the Rangers' passing attack back on track, throwing for 2,523 yards in 1994 and 2,627 yards in 1995.

While at Northwest, Smith also initiated and developed the National Coaching Clinic, which now falls under the Nike brand.

Prior to Northwest, Smith played as a tight end and receiver for the University of Central Arkansas. The Paragould, Ark., native received his bachelor's degree from UCA and his master's degree from Louisiana Tech University, where he began his coaching career. From 1979-82, Smith served as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State University, before becoming the quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss from 1983-85.

In 1986, Smith made the switch to coaching receivers at Ole Miss, helping the Rebels to a 20-17 victory over Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl. In that game, Ole Miss set bowl records with 343 passing yards and 31 pass completions.

Smith's coaching career ended in 1996 when Ole Miss Athletic Director Pete Boone brought him back to Oxford to lead the Rebels' Loyalty Foundation. Later, Smith added the title of executive associate athletics director and became responsible for athletics fundraising. 

Smith retired in 2010, but continues to reside in Oxford with his wife, the former Susan Herget of Paragould, Ark. The couple has two adult children, Ginny and Ryan.