Justin Smith biography
Date of birth : 1979-09-30
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Holts Summit, MO
Nationality : American
Category : Sports
Last modified : 2010-10-14
Credited as : Football player NFL, defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, Pro Bowl/NFL Draft player
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TRANSACTIONS:
Originally a 1st-round (4th pick overall) draft choice by Cin. in 2001… Signed by SF as an unrestricted free agent from Cin. on 3/1/08.
•Justin was one of the most sought after free agents in the NFL in the 2008 offseason. When the 49ers brought him in for a visit, they knew they had to sell the Midwesterner on the California lifestyle. Justin, who often wears cowboy boots and grew up on his father’s cattle ranch in Missouri, discussed the 49ers defensive philosophy in depth with the team’s coaches and was also taken on a helicopter tour of the city. It didn’t take long for him to make his decision as he cancelled his future visits with prospective teams and signed with San Francisco. Although Justin wants to play in San Francisco for several years to come, he looks to eventually return to his roots. “When I’m done playing ball, I’ll probably move to Missouri or Texas and get a ranch. That’s how I grew up. I think it teaches you survival.”
AWARDS & HONORS:
2008: 49ers Bill Walsh Award, given to the team’s most valuable player voted on by the coaches
2009: NFC Pro Bowl
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
•Played in first career Pro Bowl following the 2009 season after being named an alternate.
•Enters 2010 with a streak of 139 consecutive starts, ranking 11th among all active NFL players, 6th among all defensive players and 1st among defensive linemen.
•Set a career high with 3.5 sacks at StL (1/3/10).
•Played the most snaps of any NFL defensive lineman in 2007, lining up for 97.9 percent of plays on defense as the Bengals franchise player.
•Has posted at least 5 sacks in 8 of his 9 seasons played and has only missed 1 game in his career (contract negotiations as a rookie).
2009 (San Francisco):
•Ranked t-2nd on the team in sacks (6).
•Led defensive linemen and ranked 4th on the team with 90 tackles. Led team in QB pressures (78) and QB hits (52).
•Tallied 1 sack, 1 FF, 13 QB pressures and 9 hits on QB Kurt Warner at Arz. (9/13). The sack and FF came as time expired to seal the victory.
•Posted a season-high 10 tackles and 1 PD at Hou. (10/25).
•Led team with 6 QB pressures and 5 QB hits vs. Chi. (11/12), while limiting RB Matt Forte to 41 yds. rus. on 20 carries (2.1 avg.).
•Registered 1.5 sacks to go along with 1 FF and 1 FR vs. Jax. (11/29).
•Tallied a career-high 3.5 sacks and 10 tackles at StL (1/3).
2008 (San Francisco):
•Started all 16 games for 7th consecutive season and ranked 4th on team in tackles (104), 2nd in sacks (7) and 1st in QB pressures (57).
•Earned the Bill Walsh Award, which is given to team’s most valuable player as voted upon by the coaches.
•Made 49ers debut vs. Arz. (9/7) and had 8 tackles and 1 sack.
•Recorded an INT with 1:50 to play vs. Det. (9/21) in 31-13 victory. Also posted a sack, which forced a fumble on QB Jon Kitna.
•Had 3 tackles, 6 QB pressures and 1 PD vs. NYJ (12/7).
•Totaled 9 tackles and 1 sack at StL (12/21).
2007 (Cincinnati):
•Led all Bengals defensive linemen and ranked 2nd on team with 103 tackles to go along with 2 sacks and 3 PDs. His 103 stops were 34 more than any other Bengals lineman. Lined up 97.9 percent of defensive plays, which was the most of any NFL defensive lineman.
•Led team in tackles in consecutive weeks, recording 10 vs. NYJ (10/21) followed by 11 vs. Pit. (10/28).
•Registered 6 tackles and forced a punt after dropping QB Steve McNair for a sack at Bal. (11/11).
2006 (Cincinnati):
•Posted a career-high 110 tackles.
•Tied career-high with 3 sacks in season opener at KC (9/10) to go along with 7 tackles, 1 FF and 1 FR. On Smith’s third sack, he forced a 4th-qtr. fumble by Huard for an 8-yd. loss and recovered loose ball to help seal 23- 10 win.
•Matched career-high with 13 tackles vs. Atl. (10/29).
2005 (Cincinnati):
•Logged a team-high 6 sacks.
•Led line with 8 tackles vs. Hou. (10/2), including a key sack of QB David Carr in which he forced a fumble to help set up a FG for 16-10 final margin.
•Led defensive line with 6 tackles in pivotal win at Pit. (12/4), including a 2-yd. sack of QB Ben Roethlisberger on 4th down at Steelers’ 19-yd. line late in 4th qtr.
2004 (Cincinnati):
•Notched a team-high 8 sacks. His 97 tackles led the defensive line and ranked 3rd on team. Led team in defensive snaps, lining up on 94.4 percent of plays.
•Recorded 10 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 FF vs. Den. (10/25).
•Had key sack of QB Eli Manning vs. NYG (12/26), forcing Giants to settle for FG and 19-17 lead in game Bengals came back to win 23-22.
2003 (Cincinnati):
•Led defensive line with 91 tackles and had 5 sacks.
•Led team with 13 tackles in victory vs. Bal. (10/19).
2002 (Cincinnati):
•Led team with 6.5 sacks.
2001 (Cincinnati):
•Missed season-opener due to contract negotiations, finishing the year with a rookie franchise record 8.5 sacks (breaking James Francis 8.0 in 1990).
•Recorded first career sack at SD (9/30), dropping QB Doug Flutie for 13-yd. loss.
•Posted first NFL INT at Det. (10/28) off QB Charlie Batch.
•Had 3 sacks on QB Mark Brunell vs. Jax. (12/9).
COLLEGE
•Entered 2001 NFL Draft after junior season at Missouri, where he logged 11 sacks, 97 tackles and 24 TFLs. His sacks and tackles for loss set school season records. Earned first-team All-America honors as a junior and was a unanimous selection to All-Big 12 first team. Earned first-team All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore. In 1998, became first true freshman since 1986 to start every game for Missouri.
PERSONAL
•All-state and two-time all-district football choice at Jefferson City (MO) HS, where he was selected to Super Prep’s All-America and Top 50 teams as a senior.
•Born Justin Smith (9/30/79) in Holts Summit, MO.
