Kentucky State hires John L. Smith to coach Thorobreds

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Kentucky State has hired former Louisville and Arkansas coach John L. Smith to rebuild the NCAA Division II Thorobreds. Smith, 67, was

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Kentucky State has hired former Louisville and Arkansas coach John L. Smith to rebuild the NCAA Division II Thorobreds.

Smith, 67, was 14-19 the past three seasons at D-II Fort Lewis (Colorado) College. He was 41-21 at Louisville from 1998-2002, 22-26 at Michigan State from `03-'06 and 4-8 at Arkansas in 2012 after replacing Bobby Petrino, his former offensive coordinator with the Cardinals.

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Petrino was fired that April for misleading school officials about a motorcycle accident that revealed his mistress was a passenger. He returned to Louisville in 2014 and is 16-7 in two seasons there.

Smith replaces Josh Dean at KSU and promised during Monday's introductory news conference that he will throw the ball. He added, ''we have to identify what we've done well in the past and adapt.''