Luke Smith is in his eighth season on the Duquesne coaching staff. Smith served as a defensive assistant in 2016 an '17 and has led the wide receivers since 2018.
Smith has helped coach the Dukes to three Northeast Conference championships (co-2016, co-2018, 2023) and a pair of NCAA FCS Playoff appearances (2018, 2023)
As the wide receivers coach, Smith has coached seven all-conference receivers - four of which have been first team selections. Cyrus Holder, who led the NEC in receiving yards in 2020-21 and 2021 signed an undrafted rookie free agent contract with the Chicago Bears in 2022. Dwayne Menders (2023) and DJ Powell (2024) have earned invitations to the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp in back-to-back years.
In Smith's first season as the wide receivers coach, the Dukes won their first FCS Playoff game in program history, 31-10 at No. 16 Towson. Smith's top receiver on the team, Nehari Crawford eclipsed 1,000 yards and had 10 touchdown catches in 2018, while leading the league with 1,048 receiving yards, 71 receptions, 80.6 receiving yards per game, and 5.5 receptions per game. Crawford was just the second player in program history to record back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. Crawford graduated as Duquesne's all-time leader in receiving yards and receptions and also accepted an invitation to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. in January of 2019.
Smith's receiving core was a part of the top passing offense in the NEC and had four players rank in the top-11 for receiving yards during the 2023 championship run led by DJ Powell's 713 yards ranking second. Powell (9) and Keshawn Brown (7) ranked first and second in the league in receiving touchdowns, while Tedy Afful was tied for third with five.
The Dukes have had a receiver rank in the top three in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in five of the six seasons under Smith.
Smith came to Duquesne after assisting a pair of highly-regarded high schools to championships.
In 2015, Smith was the defensive backs coach at his alma mater, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, where he helped the Vikings to WPIAL and PIAA championships.
Prior to his stint at Central, he was a varsity assistant and freshman team offensive coordinator at DeMatha Catholic in Washington, DC., where he helped the Stags to 2013 and 2014 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships.
Smith began his coaching career as a defensive assistant at Vincentian Academy in 2012. Luke, the nephew of Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith, resides in Pittsburgh.
