The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Wide Receivers
- Email:
- ldsmith1@uab.edu
- Phone:
- 975-9536
Larry Smith is in his seventh season as the wide receivers coach at UAB. He joined the coaching staff in January of 2016.
Smith has been an instrumental part in UAB’s successful return to the playing field since 2017. The Blazers have posted 43 victories in that five-year time frame; the most wins of any C-USA team during that span. Additionally, UAB has won two Conference USA championship and two bowl games since 2017.
Last season in 2021, his wide receivers played a vital role in UAB’s success, led by Trea Shropshire who led the nation and set a school record in yards per reception at 26.04. Shropshire finished the season with 27 catches for 703 yards and seven touchdowns.
Shropshire also caught the game-winning touchdown in UAB’s 31-28 victory over No. 13 BYU in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl to cap a 9-4 season for the Blazers. That win over BYU marked UAB’s highest ranked victory in school history.
In 2020, led by Austin Watkins Jr., Myron Mitchell, and Trea Shropshire, the receiving corps was responsible for nine of the 14 receiving touchdowns. The Blazers averaged 201.3 passing yards per game. The receiving game for the Blazers helped open up the run game which averaged 200.0 yards per game.
First Team All-Conference USA recipient Austin Watkins Jr. led the group with 34 receptions for 468 yards and three touchdowns. Mitchell earned Conference USA Honorable Mention accolades after compiling 29 catches for 436 yards.
Shropshire shined in UAB’s Conference USA Championships game, finishing with five catches for 180 yards and a touchdown as UAB defeated Marshall 22-13 to win the program’s second Conference USA title in three years.
In 2019, his wide receivers were amongst the most productive in the nation, led by the trio of Austin Watkins Jr., Myron Mitchell and Kendall Parham. These three combined for 120 of UAB’s 192 catches and 2,254 of the 2,815 yards.
Watkins Jr. led the way with 57 catches for 1,092 yards, and in the process became just the third player in program history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season – joining Roddy White and Derrick Ingram. Watkins Jr. was named Second Team All-Conference USA.
Mitchell also earned all-conference honors, finishing with 34 catches for 554 yards en route to C-USA Honorable Mention All-Conference accolades. Parham finished sixth nationally in yards per reception at 20.97 (29 catches for 608 yards).
In 2018, Smith helped guide the Blazers to their best season in program history as UAB finished 11-3 overall and won the program’s first Conference USA title and bowl game.
Smith’s unit was highlighted by Xavier Ubosi who etched his name into the UAB record book in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl, finishing with 227 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Blazers to a 37-13 victory over Northern Illinois.
Ubosi set the then-Boca Raton Bowl record for receiving yards with 227, the third most in a single game in school history at UAB. He finished the season with 839 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, both of which were team-bests. Ubosi earned Conference USA Honorable Mention All-Conference accolades.
Overall, the Blazers established 21 school records in 2018, including total points (419), total touchdowns (53), total yards (5,680) and single game yards (668 vs. UTSA), amongst others. The top four wide receivers in Ubosi, Andre Wilson, Collin Lisa and Kailon Carter combined for 123 catches, 2,285 yards and 16 touchdowns.
In 2017, Smith’s first season coaching wide receivers at UAB, he helped guide the Blazers to an 8-5 overall record in UAB’s first year back on the playing field after a two-year hiatus.
Smith oversaw the development of standout Andre Wilson who finished the season with 54 catches for 677 yards and six touchdowns. Wilson’s 54 catches were the fifth-most in a single season at UAB, while his 677 yards ranked 10th all-time. Wilson earned All-Conference USA Honorable Mention accolades.
Smith joined the UAB coaching staff in the January of 2016 after spending three years coaching at Jacksonville State working under current UAB head coach Bill Clark in 2013 as a graduate assistant, before spending 2014-15 as the quarterbacks coach.
In 2015, Smith helped JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins earn All-America honors as Jenkins compiled nearly 4,000 yards and 36 touchdowns. The Gamecocks reached the FCS National Championship game for the first time in program history.
Smith played quarterback at Vanderbilt from 2007-11 and started 27 games in his career. As a senior, he led the Commodores to a 4-2 start before suffering an injury which held him out until the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Additionally, he started nine games as a junior, 11 games as a sophomore and one game as a freshman (Music City Bowl).
Smith played for UAB head coach Bill Clark at powerhouse Prattville High School and was named Mr. Football in Alabama as a senior in 2006 after leading the Lions to a perfect 15-0 record and the 6A state title.
Smith was 39-2 as a starter with no regular season losses at Prattville and finished with a school record 6,011 passing yards and 54 touchdowns.
Smith is a 2011 graduate of Vanderbilt and earned his degree in human and organizational development.
He and his wife Nichele have one son, Tripp.
