Dec. 10, 2001

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri All-American defensive end Justin Smith is having a spectacular rookie season in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith, the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, has 7.5 quarterback sacks so far this season, which ranks 11th overall in the NFL.

Smith is the University of Missouri's all-time career sacks leader with 22.5. He broke the single-season sacks records at Missouri last year with 11. Smith is also tied for Missouri's single-game high with four quarterback sacks.

Smith has recorded five quarterback sacks in the last two weeks for the Bengals. He sacked Tampa Bay Buccanneers quarterback Brad Johnson twice last week. This past Sunday, Smith notched another career-high when he sacked Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell three times. All three sacks occurred in the first half.