Mizzou Football: Aldon Smith fall from grace tough to watch
By Britt Zank
Mizzou football fans might remember watching Aldon Smith play for the Tigers in 2009 and 2010. Since then, his career has fallen apart, and it’s very sad to witness.
Aldon Smith, former member of Mizzou football, has fallen farther in a shorter amount of time than any other player in recent memory. It is truly a sad tale.
Aldon Smith’s sophomore season was hampered when he broke his fibula during a week three victory over San Diego State. He missed the next two games before returning to play against the number one ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
Any Mizzou fan will remember the signature play from that game when Smith intercepted a pass and, on a broken leg, ran 58 yards setting up a Mizzou touchdown. It was at that moment everyone knew he had the talent and toughness to be a great NFL player.
Live Feed
South Bound & Down
The San Francisco 49ers agreed when they took him seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Smith finished with 14 sacks, only a half sack away from Jevon Kearse’s rookie record. He finished that season just behind Von Miller for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Smith followed up a tremendous rookie season with an even better second season. He finished the year with 19.5 sacks and made his first Pro Bowl while helping the 49ers make the Super Bowl.
In his first two seasons, Smith had the hottest sack start of any player in league history. He broke Reggie White’s record for most sacks in a players first two years with 31.5 and broke the 49er team record of sacks in a season.
Smith entered the 2013 season seventh on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players list. He started that season where he left off the previous one having 4.5 sacks in his first three games. It was from this point that his life and career fell off a cliff.
Smith was involved in a one car accident in which he was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. He soon checked himself into a rehabilitation facility and missed the next five weeks of the season. Smith came out of rehab and finished the season well having many hoping this was a one time issue and he could move on with his career.
Those hopes did not last even one off-season as he was suspended the first nine games of the 2014 season for violating the leagues personal conduct and substance abuse policies. The suspension was stemmed from his arrest the year before. During that same off-season Smith got into trouble for making a bomb threat at Los Angeles International Airport.
He served his time and played the final seven games of the 2014 season. That would be his last in San Francisco as he was released prior to the 2015 season following another run in the with the law. This time he was charged with a DUI, vandalism and hit and run. The 49ers released Smith the next day.
More from KC Kingdom
- Win $650 GUARANTEED Plus $100 Off NFL Sunday Ticket With Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!
- This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
- How to Bet on the Chiefs vs. Cardinals in NFL Preseason Week 2
- The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
- The 3 Most Intriguing Games on the Chiefs’ Schedule
A player with the legal trouble of Smith only had one place to go after his release, and that was of course the Oakland Raiders. He played until November 17th of that year when the NFL dropped the hammer and suspended him for a full year due to the arrest that got him released from the 49ers back in August.
The Raiders November 15, 2015 loss to the Minnesota Viking was the last time anyone would see Smith on a football field. He applied for reinstatement in October of 2016 but the reinstatement was denied. He was forced to sit out the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The final nail in Smith’s football career came last week when he was arrested for alleged domestic violence. The Raiders officially released him on March 5, 2018. When the Raiders believe you are a lost cause, that is the end of the line for an NFL player.
Smith was one of the greatest Mizzou defensive players in program history and set records his first two season in the NFL. Just five short years later, he is out of football. The football side of things is depressing enough, but the real issue is Smith’s personal life. He is now looking at more legal troubles with the domestic violence charges.
I don’t know what the best thing for Smith is right now, but I hope he gets help. He is still beloved by Mizzou fans and would be welcomed back a hero if he was able to return to Columbia.
I hope he can get the help he needs with his alcohol problems and that this violence issue if true was just an isolated incident. He needs to get into whatever rehab he needs and surround himself with people who put his interest above his own.
I think I speak for all Mizzou alumni when I say that I hope the next time we see Smith’s name it’s as a special guest at Faurot FIeld in Columbia; clean, sober and smiling with a beautiful family. That would mean more than any record or wins he ever had as a football player.