Rutgers football’s newest assistant coach was on the other side of one of the greatest moments in school history.

The Scarlet Knights are expected to hire Kolby Smith as their new running backs coach, two individuals with knowledge of the decision told NJ Advance Media. Smith is on campus already and was spotted with head coach Chris Ash in Rutgers gear at Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game against No. 7 Michigan at the RAC in Piscataway.

Smith, a Florida native, comes to Rutgers after five seasons coaching running backs coach at Louisville, his alma mater. Smith played for the Cardinals from 2003-06 and ran for 84 yards on 19 carries in Louisville’s famed “Pandemonium in Piscataway” loss to Rutgers in 2006. He then spent four seasons in the NFL with three different teams.

Smith was a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2012, but it’s not clear if he had any overlap with Ash in Fayetteville when Ash was the Razorbacks' offensive coordinator. Smith then began his on-field coaching career as Western Kentucky’s running backs coach in 2013.

With Smith on board, Rutgers is expected to shift Nunzio Campanile to tight ends coach and move Vince Okruch over to the defensive side of the ball to handle outside linebackers and specialists. Ash has one more staff position to fill – cornerbacks coach – after Henry Baker left the program on Monday to accept a position with the New York Giants.

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.