Jeremiah Wait is entering his fourth season at SMU and his first as Director of Defensive Personnel & NFL Liaison.
He was elevated to his current role following the Mustangs’ historic 2024 season, which featured a Top-12 national finish, the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, and the signing of the No. 1 ranked high school recruiting class in the country for 2025.
Wait has played a key role in building and sustaining SMU’s momentum—enhancing recruiting efforts on both the high school and transfer portal fronts, while forging a strong pipeline to elite talent across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He previously served as Assistant Director of College Scouting and College Scouting Assistant during his first two years on the Hilltop.
Before arriving at SMU, Wait worked as a football scouting assistant at West Virginia, where he earned his master’s degree and learned under Matt Jansen (now Director of Scouting at Notre Dame), a former NFL scout with the Texans and Ravens, and Alex Brown at SMU (now Director of Player Personnel at Ole Miss), one of the most respected evaluators in the industry.
He also completed a ticket sales and member services internship with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A former running back and cornerback at Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wait transitioned into coaching as a student assistant following a career-ending injury. He has further sharpened his scouting acumen through coursework with The Scouting Academy under former NFL scout and director Daniel Hatman, and by completing Phil Savage’s 8th Annual Scouting School—led by the Jets’ Senior Football Advisor and former interim GM during the 2024 season.
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