Smelser is no stranger to the Mid-States Football Association, and has fielded some of the most aggressive defenses in the MSFA. In 2005 Smelser coached one of the best defensive teams in the nation under his direction that fall, ranking among the NAIA national leaders in pass defense (11th, 156.5 yards per game), pass defense efficiency (24th, 104.3) and total defense (28th, 310.5 yards per game). In 2008 Coach Smelser's defense ranked among the NAIA's leaders in several categories. His defense allowed 145.4 yards of passing offense per game to rank first in the Mid-States Football Association and sixth in the nation. The team was also ranked 35^th nationally in yards per game.

Smelser was a standout football player at the high school and college levels and provides eleven years of collegiate coaching experience. A 1995 graduate of Ouachita Christian High School in Monroe, La., Smelser earned All-State and All-Northeast Louisiana honors as a linebacker. He also was a three-time all-district selection and named district defensive MVP in 1994. He went o­n to play football at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Ark., where he was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter o­n the gridiron. He was part of the 1997 team that won the Gulf South Conference championship and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs. Smelser was named all-conference as a running back in 1998.

At Southern Arkansas, Smelser earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in 2000 and his Master's degree in education in 2001. He served o­n the Southern Arkansas football coaching staff from the spring of 1999 to the fall of 2004. Smelser coached outside linebackers and running backs as a student and graduate assistant from 1999-2000. He then served as defensive line coach from 2001-2004 and helped lead Southern Arkansas to the Division 2 playoffs in 2003, a season during which his defensive line totaled 30 sacks. While at Southern Arkansas he also coached a pair of NFL players in defensive lineman Kenny Pettway (Jacksonville Jaguars) and safety Jordan Babineaux (Seattle Seahawks).

Smelser has also been a speaker on the clinic circuit speaking at the Illinois high school coaches' clinic in Champaign, IL on the 3-4 defense and has also traveled to Poland to help coach with the Kozly Poznan football team while serving as a missionary. Coach Smelser has also taught physical education for eight years and was recognized in the 2006-07 edition of Who's Who Among American Teachers & Educators. Jason and his wife, Wendy, have been married eleven years and have a ten-year old daughter, Madison, and a six-year old son, Slade.

"I am truly excited about being part of a new program, Coach Robbins and the administrations are first class in everything they do. A true Christ centered program and university are very important to me as a coach. I believe the specific skills that we teach in sports have absolutely nothing to do with the leadership skills or integrity of the athletes. Just because I teach a defensive lineman how to pass rush or a defensive back the footwork doesn't mean they have learned how to be a better Christian, better husband, a better father or a better person. We have to instill those skills through our own integrity and we must ‘walk the talk' and lead by example. We, as coaches, must provide the settings and then challenge our athletes to be the best they can be on and off the field. Coach Robbins ‘Victory for Life' program is a solid match for me and my family," added Smelser.