Koby Smith looking to revive Loyola Blakefield connection with coach Ben Rubeor in Premier Lacrosse League

As a young lacrosse player in Baltimore, Koby Smith admired Johns Hopkins great Kyle Harrison. But while Harrison starred as an offensive midfielder for the Blue Jays and Friends School, Smith found himself gravitating to the defensive side of the field.

“I enjoy the contact and physicality of lacrosse,” recalled Smith, who picked up a long pole when he was a seventh grader. “The offense tends to score more and that kind of stuff, but the defense is the one doing the hitting. So that was something I enjoyed when I was younger. So I stuck with it.”

Smith’s choice proved prescient. After completing a celebrated career as a long-stick midfielder and defenseman at Towson, the Lutherville resident and Loyola Blakefield graduate went to his first Premier Lacrosse League training camp with the Atlas, which went 6-3 last summer, advanced to the tournament semifinals and used the fifth overall pick in the May 10 draft on Smith.

He won’t have to go out of his way to make an impression with his new coach. Former Loyola Blakefield coach Ben Rubeor — a two-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, college lacrosse’s version of the Heisman Trophy, who ranks seventh in Virginia history in career goals (136) and 10th in points (212) — is now the coach of the Atlas.

“It’s something you don’t really see within professional sports that often, but it’s something that really does mean a lot to me,” Smith said of teaming up with Rubeor again. “Just from personal experience, I know that Coach Rubeor has a lot of faith in me as well as the fact that I have faith in him and that we can get stuff done. He’s a great coach and an even better guy. So I’m super excited for the chance to play for him again.”

The feeling is mutual for Rubeor.

“I certainly hope that our past relationship quickens the process of development for the both of us. I think I’m a different coach than the last time I saw him, and I think he’s a different player and a better player. I think that we’re both going to have to be better than the last time we worked together if we want to accomplish what I think we want to accomplish.”

Playing defense came naturally to Smith, who said he has been playing on that side of the field since he was 4 years old. He spent his junior and senior years at Loyola under Rubeor’s supervision, during which the 6-foot, 195-pound Smith often picked his coach’s brain about opponents’ offensive tendencies.

“He definitely handled the offense a lot, but he also gave us a bunch of tips on defense on how to defend if he was in the game,” Smith said. “Playing defense, all of it is a reaction to the offensive moves. But when you get the ability to think about what an offensive move may be before you have to react, it makes it a lot easier. And you get to see and feel the game in a different type of light.”

Rubeor said Smith played close defense, long-stick midfield and even short-stick midfield for the Dons. Smith, a first team All-Metro pick by The Baltimore Sun in 2017, was a three-year starter and team captain for a defense that limited opponents to 9.2 goals per game while facing one of the toughest schedules in the country.

That versatility is an asset Rubeor is banking on as he cited the ability of Smith, Rutgers’ Kyle Pless and Sacred Heart’s Andrew Newbold to alternate between close defense and long-stick midfield.

“He’s not the biggest guy on the field, but he is deceptively strong,” Rubeor said. “In terms of moving guys from the spots they want to get to, I think he does a fantastic job of that. When you combine that with some stick skills and a nose for goals on the other end and a high competitive level, he’s a guy who I am hopeful his game can translate to the pro level and make us a better team.”

Smith said one of his fondest memories of his time with Rubeor entailed the latter taking the entire Loyola team to a secluded mountain retreat in Virginia where former Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia organized some camps. Smith said although he and some teammates initially grumbled about the absence of cell phone service in the area, that proved to be a blessing.

“It was something that stuck with me throughout my entire life,” Smith said. “He got us to be around and hang out with all of the guys and learn a little bit more about each other, and I just had a really fun time with it.”

Rubeor said he was struck by how Smith’s fiery, combative personality on the field was offset by his tender care for younger sister Bella, who was about 5 years old when her brother was playing for the Dons.

“I thought that was pretty cool, especially as a new dad myself,” Rubeor said, referring to his oldest daughter Madeleine, who was about 3 years old at the time. “It was just neat to see a young man care that much about his family. I think he’s a guy with a big heart. I think it’s probably why he’s a good teammate.”

Towson coach Shawn Nadelen, who played 11 seasons professionally as a defenseman and long-stick midfielder, said Smith should expect an adjustment to the level of lacrosse in the PLL.

“His game is going to evolve in a positive way, and he’s going to find himself being challenged more, but also growing from that just like he did in college,” Nadelen said. “So I think it’s a great opportunity for him. He’s going to have to go through some growing pains with having to learn how to play and knowing what he can get away with. Once he realizes that, that will help him play with much more confidence and ability, and I’m excited to see that.”

Smith said he fully expects Rubeor to treat him as just one of the guys when the Atlas open the season against the Redwoods on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, New York. And that’s fine with Smith, who graduated last month with a bachelor’s in communication studies with a minor in media and film.

“Nothing is guaranteed,” he said. “I think I got a little comfortable here at Towson just with my position and what I was doing on and off the field. Now I’m a freshman again. So I’ve got to work and earn my respect and earn my playing time and earn my spot on the roster.”

As of now, Smith is listed behind Lehigh’s Craig Chick (South River) and Pless at long-stick midfielder. Rubeor described Smith as a “piece” in the puzzle of organizing a solid defense in front of the starting goalkeeper from a group that includes Albany’s JD Colarusso, Hofstra’s Jack Concannon or Virginia’s Alex Rode (St. Paul’s).

“I want to see how he works within the system and off-ball,” Rubeor said. “I’ve got a pretty good sense of him on-ball. I think that if we are going to run him at LSM, he has to be great off the ground. He’s got to pick up ground balIs. It’s an emphasis for all of our guys. We’re going to ask him to cover some really great dodgers, some guys that can create their own shots and their own opportunities, and we’re going to see how well he can handle those matchups against the best players in the world.”

Premier Lacrosse League Week 1

ATLAS VS. REDWOODS

At Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, New York

Saturday, 5 p.m.

TV: ESPN