Abilene Christian associate athletic director of strength and conditioning, Corey Smith, is leaving the Wildcats and is headed to Detroit where he will be an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Lions the school announced in a release.

Smith spent his previous 18 months with the Wildcats as director of strength and conditioning before receiving a promotion last June. Before joining ACU, Smith spent one year as an associate strength and conditioning coach at Texas Tech, where he was responsible for designing the Red Raiders' annual training plan.

"Corey did an unbelievable job during his time here at ACU developing the players on our team in the weight room," ACU head coach Keith Patterson said in the statement. "He helped establish a strength and nutrition program for our team that our players believe in and we can build upon. He is a great teacher and will continue to have great success in the NFL with the Lions. I couldn't be more excited for him and his family."

Detroit will be Smith’s first stop with an NFL organization. He brings plenty of experience at the top levels of college football, including stops at Texas, Memphis, Iowa, and Illinois State.

Smith graduated from Illinois State in 2012 and earned his master’s degree from Memphis in 2015. He holds certifications from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, the American Heart Association, Functional Range Conditioning, and Precise Nutrition.