University of Missouri Athletics

“Smitty” wreaked havoc on opposing teams’ offenses in a three-year career under Coach Larry Smith when he established himself as one of the top defensive linemen in Mizzou history. Smith won first-team all-America honors as a junior in 2000 before bypassing his final year of eligibility and entering the 2001 NFL Draft. He was drafted fourth overall by Cincinnati, tying him for the highest draft pick ever in Mizzou history. At Mizzou, Smith won Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors in 1998 when he made 86 tackles, a team-best 13 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, while making 11 starts as a true freshman. He also received freshman all-America honors from several national outlets. As a sophomore, Smith was a first-team all-Big 12 Conference selection in 1999 when he made 92 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He followed with a monster junior season which included 97 tackles and school-record tackles for loss (24) and sacks (11). He won first-team all-America honors and was a unanimous first-team all-conference choice. Smith played with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2001-2007 and with the San Francisco 49ers from 2008-2014. He broke the Bengals’ rookie sack record with 8.5 in 2001. He was a Pro Bowl choice five times and was an All-Pro at both defensive tackle and defensive end in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus named him the NFL’s defensive player of the year. For his NFL career, the Jefferson City, Missouri native had 880 tackles, 87 quarterback sacks, forced 17 fumbles and intercepted three passes. His wife, the former Kerri Hils, was a distance runner at Mizzou. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.