Mizzou’s Smith gave I-Bowl fans two times the fun
JOURNAL SPORTS
With college teams in Week Zero games kicking off practices this week, the energy level jumps a bit in college football while the pace changes for the announcement of the Independence Bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team roster.
After breaking out the first 30 players on the 50-man roster in groups of five, twice a week, now the bowl will announce the top 20 stars one-by-one, once a week, each Monday.
The All-Time Team’s top 20 begins with one of the most dynamic quarterbacks to play in the local game – one who north Louisiana football fans had the chance to watch twice in three years, former Missouri quarterback Brad Smith.
Smith starred for Missouri in both the 2003 and 2005 Independence Bowls under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Gary Pinkel. In his first appearance in 2003 against Arkansas, Smith passed for 155 yards and rushed for 107 yards, while throwing one interception and rushing for one touchdown. The Tigers fell to the Razorbacks, 27-14, in the 2003 I-Bowl.
Two years later, Smith led Missouri to a 38-31 victory over Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks in 2005. Smith passed for 282 yards, ran for 150 yards and scored four TDs on his way to being named the Offensive Player of the Game. His 150 rushing yards are still the most by a quarterback in an Independence Bowl, and his 432 yards of individual total offense in 2005 still ranks second all-time in a single Independence Bowl – behind Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig’s 447 yards in the 1996 Independence Bowl.
As one of the few skill position players to start in two Independence Bowls, Smith was easily one of the most productive players in the game’s history. Combining his 2003 and 2005 performances, he amassed 432 passing yards, 257 rushing yards and five TDs against two interceptions.
Smith had a decorated career at Missouri, where he started four straight years and never missed a start. During his redshirt freshman season in 2002, Smith set the record for most rushing yards by a freshman quarterback in FBS history (1,029). That helped propel him to being named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and earning first-team Freshman All-American honors. The best season of his career was his senior season in 2005, when he passed for 2,304 yards, rushed for 1,301 yards and contributed 29 total TDs. He was named first-team All-Big 12 that season.
Throughout his four years as a starter in Columbia, Smith rushed for over 1,000 three times and was a part of 102 touchdowns between passing, rushing and receiving. Among his many accolades and records, he was the first player in FBS history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season twice in a career. He was also the first player in the FBS to pass for over 8,000 yards and rush for over 4,000 yards in a career. He tops career marks in the Missouri record book for rushing yards and total yards.
Smith was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, with plans to use him as a quarterback, wide receiver and running back. While never becoming a star in the pros, he established a successful career as an offensive and special teams weapon –- playing nine seasons in the NFL as a wildcat quarterback, wide receiver and returner. Over the course of his career, he compiled 972 rushing yards, 987 receiving yards, 2,879 return yards and 14 total TDs.
The first 30 players on the Independence Bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, as previously announced:
No. 21 – Derrick Mason (WR, Michigan State, 1995); No. 22 – Garrison Hearst (RB, Georgia, 1991); No. 23 – Jacob Rodriguez (LB, Texas Tech, 2023); No. 24 – Tim Krumrie (NG, Wisconsin, 1982); No. 25 – Muhsin Muhammad (WR, Michigan State, 1995); No. 26 – Ja’Mar Toombs (RB, Texas A&M, 2000); No. 27 – Otis Wilson (LB, Louisville, 1977); No. 28 – A.J. Green (WR, Georgia, 2009); No. 29 – Rocky Calmus (LB – Oklahoma, 1999); No. 30 – Flozell Adams (OT – Michigan State, 1995);
No. 31 – Willie Blade (DT, Mississippi State, 2000); No. 32 – Scott Thomas (S, Air Force, 1983 & 1984); No. 33 – Chad Hennings (DT, Air Force, 1984); No. 34 — Dameyune Craig (QB, Auburn, 1996); No. 35 – Geno Atkins (DT, Georgia, 2009); No. 36 – Rondell Mealey (RB, LSU, 1997); No. 37 – Rolando McClain (LB, Alabama, 2007); No. 38 – Weldon Brown (CB, Louisiana Tech, 2008); No. 39 – Andre Smith (OT, Alabama, 2006 & 2007; No. 40 – Tiki Barber (RB, Virginia, 1994);
No. 41 – Puka Nacua (WR, BYU, 2021); No. 42 – Gary Kubiak (QB; Texas A&M, 1981); No. 43 — Seneca Wallace (QB, Iowa State, 2001); No. 44 – Todd McClure (C, LSU, 1995 & 1997); No. 45 – Gary Anderson (K, Syracuse, 1979); No. 46 – Booger McFarland (LB, LSU, 1995 & 1997); No. 47 – Tremaine Edmunds (LB – Virginia Tech, 2015); No. 48 – Bill Musgrave (QB – Oregon, 1989); No. 49 – Larry Anderson (DB – Louisiana Tech, 1977); No. 50 – Lorenza Baker (LB – Louisiana Tech, 1990).