PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He’s Penn State’s interim head coach, but much of Terry Smith’s influence and experience comes from coaching in the WPIAL and at Duquesne University.
Smith’s hometown is Aliquippa, but he was a standout player at Gateway High School. He was a quarterback and scored the only touchdown in a 7-6 WPIAL title game victory over North Hills in 1986. He would go to Penn State and start three seasons at wide receiver. After a five-year professional football career in multiple leagues, Smith began his coaching path at Hempfield High School as an assistant coach.
He would spend a year there before joining Penn State graduate Greg Gattuso at Duquesne University where he was his passing game coordinator from 1997-2000. Smith left to become the offensive coordinator at his high school alma mater, and then the Gateway head coach a year later, winning an astonishing 101 games in a decade and coached in four WPIAL title games.
Smith left Gateway HS for a season at Temple University before joining James Franklin at Penn State. He became the assistant head coach in 2016 and associate head coach in 2021.
Along with attending Penn State, his son, Gateway HS star Justin King, also played for the Nittany Lions.