Aldon Smith

Aldon Jacarus Smith (born September 25, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Missouri. He was chosen by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Early years
Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Smith attended Raytown High School in Raytown, Missouri, where he recorded 60 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback sacks, while adding 7 forced fumbles, 1 blocked punt and 1 safety as a senior. He also stood out on offense, as he caught 34 passes for 570 yards and 4 TDs as a tight end.

Considered only a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Smith was considered No. 5 overall prospect (any position) in the state of Missouri, as well as the No. 27 strongside defensive end in the nation. Smith chose Mizzou over Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State, among many others.

College career
After being redshirted as a freshman in 2008, Smith started 11 of 13 games at defensive end in 2009. He finished the season with 60 tackles and 11 sacks. He was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and a first team freshman All-American. As a sophomore in 2010 he played in nine games, recording 48 tackles and six sacks.

After the season Smith announced that he would forgo his final two years of eligibility and enter the 2011 NFL Draft.

College awards and honors

 * 2009 1st-Team Freshman All-American (College Football News, Phil Steele)
 * 2009 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year (Associated Press)
 * 2009 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (es)
 * 2009 Hendricks Award Watch List
 * 2009 2nd-Team All-Big 12 (Associated Press)
 * 2009 Hon. Men. All-Big 12 (Coaches)
 * 2009 Team Defensive Lineman of the Year Award
 * 2009 Team Freshman of the Year Award

2011 NFL Draft
Playing as a defensive end at Missouri, Smith was considered a "DE/OLB prospect" by most NFL scouts and was considered a strong edge run defender as 4-3 end or 3-4 linebacker. Many scouts had compared him to DeMarcus Ware. Prior to the 2011 NFL Draft he was projected to selected in the mid-late first round by mock draft analysis. On Draft day, the San Francisco 49ers decided to draft Smith with the 7th overall pick.

2011 season
Smith did not start but did make his NFL debut against the Seattle Seahawks. In a match against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 4 he recorded his first sack taking down Michael Vick. The next 2 weeks Smith would win the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week in victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions. After a strong month of October, Smith became the first 49ers player since Patrick Willis in 2007 to earn the NFL Rookie of the Month, he recorded 13 tackles, 6.5 sacks including 1 that forced a safety as he helped San Francisco to a 6-1 record. In Week 15 Smith recorded 2.5 sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also surpassed Charles Haley for the 49ers record for most sacks by a rookie in a single season with 13.0 sacks. He finished with 37 total tackles, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and 14 sacks. Smith was half a sack shy of tying the all-time rookie sack record held by Jevon Kearse despite not starting a single game in his rookie season. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year by Pro Football Writers of America, and finished second to Von Miller for the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

2012 season


After being used only as a situational pass rusher throughout his rookie season, Aldon Smith became a full-time starter in 2012. In Week 11 he set a Monday Night Football record by recording 5.5 sacks against the Chicago Bears. The next week, in a game against the New Orleans Saints, he surpassed Reggie White as the fastest player in league history to record his 30th career sack, doing so in 27 games. The next week, against the St. Louis Rams, Smith broke another of White's records by recording 31.5 sacks in his first two seasons. In that same game, he tied Fred Dean's franchise record of 17.5 sacks in one season.

Personal life
On January 28, 2012, Aldon Smith was arrested for DUI in Miami Beach, Florida.

On June 30, 2012, Smith was believed to have suffered stab wounds when attempting to break up a fight at a house party in San Jose, Calif.

On December 13, 2012, Smith announced that he would be making a charitable donation of $5099 per each of sacks during his sack record-pace 2012 NFL regular season. The total would be split between the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco (Willy Mays Clubhouse at Hunters Point) and Boys & Girls Clubs of The Peninsula (East Palo Alto Clubhouse).