Ty Smith, a former staffer of Les Hamilton and Bob Stephens at Alta High, announced via social media he’d become the next head coach of the Scots following the school’s exhaustive three-month search following former head coach Lyndon Johnson’s resignation in November.

Returning to Utah from his native Mississippi, Smith went 6-25 in three seasons as the head coach of St. Martin High School in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Smith spent one season as St. Martin’s offensive coordinator before his promotion to head coach in 2022.

On Feb. 3, Smith announced his intentions to step down at St. Martin and return to Utah. Smith served as an assistant coach to Hamilton and Stephens at Alta during the early 2010s, later moving back to the Gulf Coast for other coaching opportunities.

“We’ve always talked about moving back out there,” Smith told the Standard-Examiner. “Over the holidays, (my wife) and I started discussing it more and we really took off with it. I talked with some friends about the (BL) situation and we really loved the Ogden area.”

Smith has coached at five different high schools — four in Mississippi — since beginning his coaching career in 2006. The former Southern Miss quarterback also instructs the country’s leading quarterback prospects at the Manning Passing Academy, an annual four-day clinic, at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Smith immediately reached out to Johnson when the Ogden School District expressed interest in his relocation to revamp the mired program. Those conversations revolved around challenges Johnson faced in six seasons as the Scots coach, primarily conditioning and weightlifting.

After his resignation, Johnson expressed his interest in developing more junior high programs preparing students for football at BL. Smith said any collaboration with Johnson, who delivered a winning season in 2023 for the first time since 2000, is welcomed and encouraging.

“We’re going to really focus on developing those kids at the junior high level in a way that keeps them at (BL) so they’ll have something at the high school level they’re proud of,” Smith said. “There’s no excuse. You’ve just gotta give them the opportunity.”

In his final season at St. Martin, Smith’s offense managed 226.6 yards per game and produced two 500-plus yard rushers. Opening this past fall 2-1, St. Martin dropped six of their seven final regular-season games for a 3-7 finish to Smith’s final season as head coach.

Smith finds himself in a similar position with the Scots, recently removed from a winless 2024 campaign plagued by disciplinary issues and roster challenges alike. The “challenge” of turning over a downtrodden city program appealed to Smith.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Smith said. “(St. Martin) is a lot like Ben Lomond, kind of in the same situation coming off some years that’ve been down. You’re trying to dig up the foundation and lack of discipline and get some things in line. That looked interesting to me.”

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.