The first big shock in the NFL Draft was felt in New York, San
Francisco and Raytown. With the seventh pick in the 2011 NFL Draft,
commissioner Roger Goodell announced, the San Francisco 49ers
select… At this point, Missouri defensive end and former Raytown
High star Aldon Smith, his parents and college roommates sitting in
the green room knew Smith’s name would fill Radio City Music
Hall.
NEW YORK
The first big shock in the NFL Draft was felt in New York, San Francisco and Raytown.
With the seventh pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, commissioner Roger Goodell announced, the San Francisco 49ers select…
At this point, Missouri defensive end and former Raytown High star Aldon Smith, his parents and college roommates sitting in the green room knew Smith’s name would fill Radio City Music Hall.
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“We’d been celebrating, jumping up and down,” said Thurston Smith, Aldon’s father. “We were totally surprised.”
Most projected draft gurus had Smith’s stock rising over the last few weeks, but few if any had him being selected this early.
Smith becomes the highest-drafted player from a Kansas City-area high school since Westport High defensive back Bruce Pickens was taken third by the Falcons out of Nebraska in 1991.
After Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones was taken sixth by Atlanta, attention for the next choice centered on a Missouri player – quarterback Blaine Gabbert. It was thought the 49ers, under new coach Jim Harbaugh, were in the market for a quarterback.
Nope, at least not with their precious first-round selection. San Francisco went defense and figures to play the 6-foot-4, 263-pound Smith as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 alignment, and other spots as well.
“There will be times in our defense where he’ll play in his three-point stance, in the nickel when you go to the defensive end position and even an inside shade on the defensive line,” Harbaugh said. “He’s got quite a bit of versatility.”
Smith said he visited other teams that played a 3-4 and was prepared for a position adjustment.
“I wasn’t sure where I was going to go,” Smith said. “I’m an athletic player, a pass-rush guy who gets to the quarterback and expect to make a contribution on defense.”
So do the 49ers, although they’re prepared to be patient with Smith.
“It’s going to take some time,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said. “It’s not a day one, throw him out there, and everything’s going to fall into place for him. He has to learn a new position. We realize that, so there are going to be the growing pains that go with it. But once again, we feel very good about the unique skill set that he has and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on him.”
Smith set a Missouri record for sacks with 11.5 as a redshirt freshman in 2009 but perhaps the biggest play of his career was an interception and long return that set up a touchdown in last season’s upset victory over Oklahoma.
Smith recorded 5.5 sacks this season but missed three games because of a broken bone in his leg.
His return from the injury and effectiveness on the field wasn’t lost on Harbaugh.
“That struck a chord with me,” Harbaugh said. “You could tell he was playing on it, limping at times. There’s a toughness aspect there, mentally and physically, that I was impressed with.”
Not to mention a fearlessness.
“He’s not afraid to go into a pile of bodies and make the tackle,” Harbaugh said.
Smith said there was no doubt he was going to play after getting injured in the third game against San Diego State. He returned against Oklahoma and had one of the game-changing moments.
“It was tough playing on it, but I love the game and my teammates and nothing was going to stop me from playing,” Smith said.
In San Francisco, Smith will join another former Missouri defensive lineman, Justin Smith.
Aldon said he’s never met Justin Smith but knows him by reputation and in record book.
“He had the sack record that I broke when I was a freshman,” Aldon Smith said.
Gabbert went three picks later, to Jacksonville, giving Missouri two top-10 picks for the first time in school history. Before this year, Missouri had a total of five top-10 selections.
The Big 12 had eight players taken in the first-round, the second most in the league’s 15-year history. Last year, nine players were selected in the first round.
— Story by Blair Kerkhoff, McClatchy Newspapers
