Maybe he couldn’t have told you Jacquies Smith would be flying down the field to knock over the return man on the Missouri football team’s first kickoff against Southeast Missouri State. And maybe he wouldn’t have been able to foresee Smith throwing his hands up to bat down a pair of passes at the line of scrimmage against Nevada.

Smith

But MU defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus was pretty sure Smith, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive end from South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, would quickly be able to his make a mark on the fifth-ranked Tigers’ defense this fall.

"You always bring people in and say, ‘This guy’s going to do this … or do that … ,’ " Eberflus said. "Then you get him in here and sometimes guys surprise you and sometimes guys need a year to redshirt and get themselves ready to go. You never quite know. But with Jacquies, we kind of had a real good idea that he was going to be a good player for us."

Missouri wasn’t the only school that had high hopes for Smith, whose first name is pronounced ja-QWEESE.

Coming from the same high school that produced former Dallas Cowboys player and Super Bowl MVP Harvey Martin and NBA great Dennis Rodman as well as former Kansas hoopster Darrell Arthur and current MU wide receiver La’Roderick Thomas, Smith was considered one of the top 75 defensive end prospects in the country. He had scholarship offers from programs such as Nebraska, Michigan State, Colorado and Kentucky, and on the same day MU tight ends coach Bruce Walker and defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski paid a visit to South Oak Cliff last winter, newly hired Texas A&M Coach Mike Sherman, the former head man with the Green Bay Packers, was also wandering the halls in pursuit of Smith.

"It was kind of interesting to see an NFL guy. I had watched him on the sidelines a few times," Smith said, but that didn’t keep him from making Sherman wait as he visited with the two MU assistants. "I knew I was going to be a Mizzou Tiger."

Smith’s eventual commitment was a reward for the Tigers’ persistence. They had been recruiting him for at least a year when Sherman was hired to clean up the mess left behind by Dennis Franchione in College Station, and though the Aggies’ new coach made offering Smith a scholarship one of his first orders of business, he couldn’t persuade him to remain in the Lone Star State.

Smith was brought to Columbia to play a position that was expected to be one of Missouri’s strengths. Senior defensive ends Stryker Sulak and Tommy Chavis started every game for the Tigers last season, and both received postseason recognition from the league’s media and coaches when they combined for 10½ sacks.

But Missouri looked a little thin behind the two veterans. Spurred on by encouragement from seniors Chavis, Sulak and defensive tackle Ziggy Hood, Smith used his uncommon speed to catch the attention of MU coaches and earn a spot in the rotation at defensive end.

"Me and Stryker, we needed some help at the defensive end position. We can’t do it all by ourselves for 14 games," Chavis said. "We just talk, try to keep him relaxed and everything like that. He just goes out and performs. He’s doing a good job."

Eberflus echoed that sentiment.

"He’s been great," he said. "He’s learned the techniques from Coach Kul" (Kuligowski) "and plays really hard. I think being from a good program down in Texas, I think fundamentally, he’s strong. I think he’s doing great for us. I’ve been real impressed with him."

There is still plenty of room for growth, particularly when it comes to polishing his pass rush moves and improving his preparation.

So far, the Tigers have eased him onto the field, where he’s spelled Chavis for 15-20 plays each game. In addition to his two batted passes, Smith has registered six tackles, two of them solo.

He is still waiting for his first sack, something the last two MU defensive ends bearing the last name Smith - Justin and Brian - produced in bunches.

Jacquies Smith is more aware of the exploits of Brian Smith, whose college career ended more recently. He said he’s already encountered comparisons to the Tigers’ all-time sack leader because of their similar size and speed and the fact that both hailed from the Dallas area.

"That’s not comparable right now," Smith said. "Brian Smith was a great player here, one of the greatest players here. He was instrumental in me coming here, as well, because I saw how he played. My body type and stuff maybe compares to him, but skill-wise, not at all."

At least not yet.

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