Staff Directory
Smith, Tesfa
Tesfa Smith
- Title:
- Defensive Line Coach
- Phone:
- @CoachTesfa (X)
- Year at CMU:
- 1st year at CMU
- Hometown:
- Sunrise, Fla.
- Alma Mater/Year:
- Lakeland (Ill.)/1998
- Experience:
- 26th year
With over 25 years of collegiate coaching experience, Tesfa Smith begins his first season on head coach Matt Drinkall’s coaching staff as its defensive line coach. Smith arrives at Central Michigan following 10 years as the defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach at nearby Ferris State
During his tenure at Ferris State under head coach Tony Annese, Smith helped guide the Bulldogs to the top of NCAA Division II football. In the last 10 years, Smith and the Bulldogs won three NCAA Division II national championships (2021, 2022, and 2024), six Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, with five unbeaten regular seasons, six regional titles, six national quarterfinal appearances, and a 122-14 overall record. Ferris State is one of only four teams in college football at any level to win at least 11 games in each of the last eight seasons.
Since 2015, Smith’s Ferris State defensive linemen have earned two Gene Upshaw NCAA Division I defensive lineman of the year Awards, one Ted Hendricks Award, one Harlan Hill finalist and eight Academic All-America honors. On a conference level, Bulldogs defense linemen have claimed one GLIAC Player of the Year Award (Caleb Murphy, 2022), four GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year awards, 11 First Team All-GLIAC honors, eight Second Team All-GLIAC honors, and nine honorable mention honors. Additionally, his players have been paid nearly $50 million by National Football League teams.
En route to the 2024 national championship, the Bulldogs finished 14-1 overall, 7-0 in the GLIAC and concluded the year on a 14-game win streak. As defensive run game coordinator/defensive line coach, Smith’s Bulldogs yielded just 101.5 yards rushing per game and only nine touchdowns on the year.
Smith began his tenure at Ferris State in 2014. In the 2015 campaign, he helped the Bulldogs win a second straight GLIAC championship go on to an unbeaten regular season. The Bulldogs then posted their first playoff victory in 19 years and ran their regular season win streak to 25 consecutive games.
Ferris State reached even greater heights in 2016 as it advanced to the NCAA Division II national semifinals for only the second time in school history. During the memorable postseason run, FSU captured the Super Region Four Championship by defeating archrival Grand Valley State in the regional final. The Bulldogs also broke the school record for most consecutive regular season victories by stretching the mark to 28 in a row early in the year. Ferris State followed up the memorable campaign by reaching the NCAA Division II playoff for a fourth year in a row in 2017, finishing with an 11-2 record, while making its second straight national quarterfinal showing.
With Smith on staff, Ferris State won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Ferris State has been the nation’s winningest active program in NCAA Division II football over the past decade.
Prior to arriving at Ferris State, Smith spent 14 total years and seven consecutive seasons (2007-13) as an assistant coach at fellow GLIAC member Saginaw Valley State. During his first run from 1999-04, Smith coached linebackers, running backs, and tight ends, as he helped the Cardinals to a GLIAC title in 2003.
After a stint as defensive coordinator at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., Smith returned to Saginaw Valley State in 2007 where he guided the running backs for four seasons, then moved over to the defensive side of the ball to coach the defensive line under head coach Jim Collins.
A native of Sunrise, Fla., Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from Lakeland College (Ill.) in marketing and international business with a minor in Spanish. He later earned a master’s degree from Saginaw Valley State in 2001 with an emphasis in business administration.
A 2018 inductee into the Lakeland College Athletic Hall of Fame, Smith was a four-year starter and two-time Illini-Badger Football Conference defensive player of the year honoree. As a four-year starter, he amassed 286 tackles (164 solo, 122 assists), 24 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and five fumble recoveries in his career.
Smith and his wife Brooke have three children: twin daughters Adailie and Amari and son Shiloe.
THE SMITH FILE
Birthdate: April 6, 1975
Hometown: Sunrise, Fla.
Family: Wife Brooke, twins Adailie, Amari, and son Shiloe
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Marketing and International Business, Lakeland College (Ill.), 1998
Master of Business Administration, Saginaw Valley State University, 2001
Coaching Career
Defensive Line Coach, Central Michigan University, 2025-current
Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach, Ferris State University, 2014-24
Defensive Line Coach, Saginaw Valley State University, 2007-13
Defensive Coordinator, MacMurray College (Ill.), 2005-06
Linebackers Coach, Running Backs Coach, Tight Ends Coach, Saginaw Valley State University, 1999-2004
Coaching Accomplishments
Three NCAA Division II national championships at Ferris State (2021, 2022, 2024) … Seven GLIAC championships (2003 at SVSU; 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024 at Ferris State) …
Playing Career
Inducted into the Lakeland College Hall of Fame in 2018 … Two-time Illini-Badger Football Conference Player of the Year and All-IBFC First Team honoree … Amassed 286 tackles (164 solo, 122 assists), 24 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and five fumble recoveries in his career.
During his tenure at Ferris State under head coach Tony Annese, Smith helped guide the Bulldogs to the top of NCAA Division II football. In the last 10 years, Smith and the Bulldogs won three NCAA Division II national championships (2021, 2022, and 2024), six Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, with five unbeaten regular seasons, six regional titles, six national quarterfinal appearances, and a 122-14 overall record. Ferris State is one of only four teams in college football at any level to win at least 11 games in each of the last eight seasons.
Since 2015, Smith’s Ferris State defensive linemen have earned two Gene Upshaw NCAA Division I defensive lineman of the year Awards, one Ted Hendricks Award, one Harlan Hill finalist and eight Academic All-America honors. On a conference level, Bulldogs defense linemen have claimed one GLIAC Player of the Year Award (Caleb Murphy, 2022), four GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year awards, 11 First Team All-GLIAC honors, eight Second Team All-GLIAC honors, and nine honorable mention honors. Additionally, his players have been paid nearly $50 million by National Football League teams.
En route to the 2024 national championship, the Bulldogs finished 14-1 overall, 7-0 in the GLIAC and concluded the year on a 14-game win streak. As defensive run game coordinator/defensive line coach, Smith’s Bulldogs yielded just 101.5 yards rushing per game and only nine touchdowns on the year.
Smith began his tenure at Ferris State in 2014. In the 2015 campaign, he helped the Bulldogs win a second straight GLIAC championship go on to an unbeaten regular season. The Bulldogs then posted their first playoff victory in 19 years and ran their regular season win streak to 25 consecutive games.
Ferris State reached even greater heights in 2016 as it advanced to the NCAA Division II national semifinals for only the second time in school history. During the memorable postseason run, FSU captured the Super Region Four Championship by defeating archrival Grand Valley State in the regional final. The Bulldogs also broke the school record for most consecutive regular season victories by stretching the mark to 28 in a row early in the year. Ferris State followed up the memorable campaign by reaching the NCAA Division II playoff for a fourth year in a row in 2017, finishing with an 11-2 record, while making its second straight national quarterfinal showing.
With Smith on staff, Ferris State won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Ferris State has been the nation’s winningest active program in NCAA Division II football over the past decade.
Prior to arriving at Ferris State, Smith spent 14 total years and seven consecutive seasons (2007-13) as an assistant coach at fellow GLIAC member Saginaw Valley State. During his first run from 1999-04, Smith coached linebackers, running backs, and tight ends, as he helped the Cardinals to a GLIAC title in 2003.
After a stint as defensive coordinator at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., Smith returned to Saginaw Valley State in 2007 where he guided the running backs for four seasons, then moved over to the defensive side of the ball to coach the defensive line under head coach Jim Collins.
A native of Sunrise, Fla., Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from Lakeland College (Ill.) in marketing and international business with a minor in Spanish. He later earned a master’s degree from Saginaw Valley State in 2001 with an emphasis in business administration.
A 2018 inductee into the Lakeland College Athletic Hall of Fame, Smith was a four-year starter and two-time Illini-Badger Football Conference defensive player of the year honoree. As a four-year starter, he amassed 286 tackles (164 solo, 122 assists), 24 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and five fumble recoveries in his career.
Smith and his wife Brooke have three children: twin daughters Adailie and Amari and son Shiloe.
THE SMITH FILE
Birthdate: April 6, 1975
Hometown: Sunrise, Fla.
Family: Wife Brooke, twins Adailie, Amari, and son Shiloe
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Marketing and International Business, Lakeland College (Ill.), 1998
Master of Business Administration, Saginaw Valley State University, 2001
Coaching Career
Defensive Line Coach, Central Michigan University, 2025-current
Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach, Ferris State University, 2014-24
Defensive Line Coach, Saginaw Valley State University, 2007-13
Defensive Coordinator, MacMurray College (Ill.), 2005-06
Linebackers Coach, Running Backs Coach, Tight Ends Coach, Saginaw Valley State University, 1999-2004
Coaching Accomplishments
Three NCAA Division II national championships at Ferris State (2021, 2022, 2024) … Seven GLIAC championships (2003 at SVSU; 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024 at Ferris State) …
Playing Career
Inducted into the Lakeland College Hall of Fame in 2018 … Two-time Illini-Badger Football Conference Player of the Year and All-IBFC First Team honoree … Amassed 286 tackles (164 solo, 122 assists), 24 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and five fumble recoveries in his career.
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