Brad Smith Named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 30, 2002
Columbia, Mo. - He wowed people all season long, and to the surprise of no one, Missouri redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Smith was named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, as selected by league coaches. The announcement was made today by the league office.
Smith is the first Tiger offensive player to win a Big 12 individual season award since the inception of the league in 1996. The only other Tiger to win an individual Big 12 award was former defensive end standout Justin Smith, who won Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 1998. Smith is also just the third Tiger in school history to win a conference offensive individual award, joining former standouts Phil Bradley (QB - 1980 Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year) and Brock Olivo (RB - 1994 Big Eight Offensive Freshman of the Year).
The Youngstown, Ohio, native guided the Tigers to five wins in 2002, a total which has been surpassed by Mizzou teams just twice since 1984. Unquestionably one of the most versatile quarterbacks in the country, Smith made history as he became just the second player in NCAA annals to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He ended the year with 2,333 passing yards and 1,029 rushing yards, and his total offense count of 3,362 yards crushed the MU single-season record of 2,545 yards by Corby Jones in 1997. Smith's one-year total already puts him 8th on the MU career total offense top-10. His per-game total offense average of 280.2 yards per game ranked 11th in the NCAA.
Other records set by Smith in 2002 included: most total offense by a freshman in a game (391 vs. Oklahoma), most rushing yards by a freshman in a season, most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season, most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game (213 vs. Oklahoma) and most rushing yards by a freshman in a game (213 vs. Oklahoma). Under Smith's guidance, Missouri led the nation in fewest turnovers, as the Tigers set a school record by committing just 12 miscues (7 interceptions and 5 fumbles). Smith also set an individual record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted in a season (.016), as he threw just 6 interceptions in an MU-record 366 pass attempts.
Smith was named the starting quarterback by MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel the week of Mizzou's season opener versus defending Big Ten Conference champion Illinois. Despite being the first freshman in school history to start the season opener, Smith led the Tigers to a 33-20 win against the Illini. In his first collegiate series, he drove the Tigers 77 yards on eight plays for a touchdown in MU's initial possession, and ended the game with 290 yards of total offense (152 passing and 138 rushing). Smith was named national player of the week by CNNSI.com, offensive newcomer of the week by ESPN.com and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
