The path to being a college football head coach usually starts as a player. Most college football coaches played the sport their entire lives, though there are exceptions. Michigan State's Jonathan Smith is not an exception; he played quarterback for Oregon State from 1998-2001.
Smith finished his Oregon State career with 9,106 passing yards and 52 touchdowns with 29 interceptions. He even led the Beavers to one of the best seasons in program history, going 11-1 in 2000, capped off by a Fiesta Bowl win.
The former quarterback-turned-head coach is fourth all-time in passing yards at Oregon State, and he's tied for third all-time in touchdown passes. He's also third in passing yards per game.
Obviously he was a fairly successful player and a legend at Oregon State, but where does he rank among former players who are now head coaches?
According to ESPN, he's the seventh-best head coach as a player.
The top 30 head coaches ranked as players via ESPN. 👀 pic.twitter.com/1tejfvvY21
— College Football Alerts (@CFBAlerts_) July 14, 2025
Smith is ranked ahead of guys like Scott Frost, Trent Dilfer, Major Applewhite, Timmy Chang, Marcus Freeman, and even his former assistant coach, Trent Bray.
No. 1 on the list is Deion Sanders who had an excellent pro career as well as Eddie George (Bowling Green) at No. 2. Josh Heupel, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Gundy, and DeShaun Foster are also just ahead of Smith. It's hard to argue that Smith should be ahead of any of those guys, but if he made it to the NFL, he would likely be in the top five.
Michigan State fans are hoping his playing career success and previous accomplishments at Oregon State as a head coach carry over into his tenure with the Spartans.