SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Football

2005 NFL Draft

Alex Smith: from Helix High to No. 1 NFL Draft pick

Mt. Miguel grad Khalif Barnes also tabbed along with three SDSU players

By Phillip Brents
Posted April 25, 2005

Photo: Alex Smith, as a senior at Helix High School

While handling the varsity quarterback position at Helix High School during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Alex Smith led the Highlanders to a 25-1 record and a pair of San Diego Section Division II championship titles.

His high school resume read like a checklist for any BMOC candidate: First Team All-CIF in 2001, First Team all-conference and all-county as a junior and senior, two-time conference Offensive Player of the Year, team Most Valuable Player and team captain two years, senior class president, first team all-academic, Helix scholar-athlete award-winner ... the list goes on.

On Saturday, April 23, Smith, 20, became the county’s first-ever first pick in the NFL Draft when he was selected by the San Francisco 49ers.

He termed his No. 1 selection "absolutely overwhelming."

The mega-bucks should be rolling in shortly.

Last weekend’s draft showcase was held at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Smith was accompanied to New York by his parents, Doug and Pam Smith, his brother and two sisters. Dr. Doug Smith serves as the principal at recently renamed Helix Charter High School.

The family resides in Bonita.

Alex Smith attended Discovery and Sunnyside elementary schools as well as Bonita Vista Middle School.

Pam Smith serves as a board member in the Chula Vista Elementary School District as well as the director of the county’s department of aging and independence services. She also headed the social security office in Chula Vista.

The University of Utah quarterback was expected to go as either the first or second pick among quarterbacks after leading the Utes to a 12-0 record, No. 4 national ranking and 35-7 Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh during his just completed junior season.

San Francisco, with the league’s worst record at 2-14 in 2004, received the top pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the Golden Bears to an appearance at the 2004 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech, had been projected as this year’s possible No. 1 pick but instead was taken as the 24th selection by the Green Bay Packers.

Rodgers appears to be the heir apparent for signal-caller Brett Favre, a certain future Hall of Fame selection. Favre, 35, will enter his 15th NFL season this fall.

The 49ers play the Chargers Sept. 1 in a preseason exhibition game at Qualcomm Stadium. The demand on tickets and resulting local media interest should be strong on both counts.

Smith opted for the NFL Draft after his junior year after already earning a degree in economics last May. He began work on his master’s degree this past fall.

Smith was not the only player with San Diego County ties selected in this year’s NFL Draft, which was held at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Mt. Miguel graduate Khalif Barnes, a tackle for the University of Washington, was the 52nd pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Barnes, who stands 6-5 and weighs 310 pounds, started 42 games for the Huskies, who made an appearance in the 2001 Rose Bowl.

Barnes, who served as team captain for Washington this past college season, recorded 120 tackles and had nine sacks during his senior season at Mt. Miguel where he was an all-league and All-CIF selection in 1998 and 1999 and a defensive MVP. He also played basketball at the Spring Valley school, earning all-conference honors as well. He was a four-time member of the school’s honor roll and a four-time Golden Pyramid Scholar.

An honorable mention All-PAC 10 selection in 2003, Barnes broke his wrist five games into the 2004 season. However, rigorous rehabilitation has left him healthy once again and he feels confident he can live up to what is expected of him.

"Wherever I get my name called, I’m going to be ready to work ... You’re a first round pick, so a lot of high things are expected of you," Barnes was quoted in a story posted on the University of Washington Web site.

San Diego State University had three players taken in this year’s NFL Draft: linebackers Matt McCoy and Kirk Morrison and safety Marviel Underwood.

McCoy, who like Smith opted for the NFL Draft after his junior season, was drafted as the 63rd player by the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. Morrison was taken 78th overall by the Oakland Raiders (Morrison was born in Oakland and attended Bishop O’Dowd High School there). Underwood was the 115th pick by Green Bay.

Photo: SDSU's Matt McCoy

Morrison and McCoy ranked first and second in total tackles this past season with 115 and 90, respectively. Morrison, the Mountain West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2003, had one interception and three fumble recoveries; McCoy had three quarterback sacks. Underwood had 58 tackles (fourth best on the team), two interceptions and one fumble recovery.

The three Aztecs are the most selected in the NFL Draft since 2002. Since 1998, 38 SDSU players have been taken in the NFL Draft, a number second only in the Mountain West Conference to BYU’s 41 picks.

The Chargers took Maryland linebacker/defensive end Shawne Merriman as their first draft pick (12th overall) and Northwestern defensive tackle Luis Castillo as their second pick (28th overall) in an effort to shore up the team’s defense.

Road to the NFL
A late bloomer, Smith was reported to be only 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds as a freshman at Helix. He enters the NFL now at 6-4 and 212 pounds.

Smith’s junior year at Utah was a storybook season to be sure. He passed for 2,952 yards and 32 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions. He finished second in the nation in pass efficiency en route to earning the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year award. He also rushed for 631 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 298.6 yards per game in total offense (fifth in the national ratings).

He finished fourth in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy in December, was named a first-team All-American and the Football Academic All-American of the Year.

The Seattle-born Smith passed for 328 yards and four touchdowns in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl victory against 19th-ranked Pittsburgh. He shared the offensive MVP award with teammate Paris Warren, who caught 15 of Smith’s passes to set a new Fiesta Bowl record. Smith’s 78-percent completion record also set a Fiesta Bowl record.

Behind Smith’s guidance, Utah scored on five of its first seven possessions against Pittsburgh in front of a sellout crowd of 73,519 in Tempe, Ariz. and a national television audience.

A two-year starter, Smith led the Utes to back-to-back Mountain West Conference championships and bowl victories each year. During his time at Utah, the Utes went 22-2 — 21-1 with Smith as their starting quarterback.

Utah defeated Southern Mississippi, 17-0, in the 2003 Liberty Bowl. It was during that sophomore season that Smith arrived on the national stage. He ranked second in the nation in touchdown-to-interception ratio (5 to 1) and threw just three interceptions in 266 passes (one percent). He threw 180 consecutive passes without an interception at one point during the season. Overall, he passed for 2,247 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for five additional scores.

Photo: Alex Smith passes for the University of Utah (University of Utah file photo)

He played in two games late in the season during his freshman year (when he was listed third on the team’s depth chart), including a 36-17 loss against the Aztecs when he went 2-of-4 for four yards and one interception against the Aztecs.

In three years at Utah, he passed for 5,203 yards and 47 touchdowns while rushing for 15 scores (a total of 62 touchdowns). He had just eight interceptions.

Smith passed for 298 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-28 victory against SDSU at Qualcomm Stadium on Oct. 30, 2004, and had three touchdowns in a 27-6 victory against the Aztecs as a sophomore in Salt Lake City.

Smith became the fifth consecutive quarterback selected first overall in the NFL Draft, following Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, David Carr and Michael Vick as top picks since 2001. Both Manning and Vick have since become superstars in the league.

The scouting report on Smith: an exceptionally smart player, a big arm, makes good decisions and also runs well.

Smith will have his work cut out for him, however. Only three NFL teams with the No. 1 pick in the past two decades have rebounded with a winning record the following season.

Prep career
Smith, whose grade-point average ranked 13th out of a class of 430 at Helix, passed for 1,704 yards and 30 touchdowns with four interceptions his senior season in high school in 2001. He set the school record with six touchdowns in one game, a 61-28 playoff victory against Monte Vista. He ended his prep career as the winner of the prestigious National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Offensive Player of the Year award.

During his junior year, he was awarded Most Valuable Player by his coaches, named Offensive Player of the Year in the Grossmont Conference, selected First Team All-League, First Team All-East County and received the 2000 Coca-Cola Golden Helmet Award. His senior year, he was named 2001 First Team All- CIF, First Team All-East County, First Team All-League quarterback, Grossmont Conference Offensive Player of the Year as well as team MVP.

"Of my 27 years in education, Alex ranks in the very top one percent of all students I have worked with," said Mark Faulk, a counselor at Helix High, when Smith received the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame honor.

During his years as a Highlander, Smith received two letters in varsity football and four letters in varsity golf. With a 4.4 grade point average, he was named to the school honor roll every year. He was elected senior class president, homecoming king, was on the president’s council and received a scholarship to attend the University of Utah.

Both his parents graduated from Weber State where Doug Smith played football. Alex Smith’s uncle, John L. Smith, is the head football coach of Michigan State football coach.

NFL Draft notes
Cal’s Rodgers passed for 2,566 yards with a 66.1 percent completion ratio and threw 24 touchdowns against eight interceptions. In the 45-31 Holiday Bowl loss to Texas Tech, Rodgers passed for 256 yards and one score. The Golden Bears entered the game with a 10-1 record and No. 4 national ranking.

Cal teammate J.J. Arrington, who rushed for 173 yards and one score in the 2004 Holiday Bowl game, was taken as the 44th player in the draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

The second, fourth and fourth picks in this year’s draft went to running backs: Ronnie Brown of Auburn to the Miami Dolphins (No. 2), Cedric Benson of Texas to the Chicago Bears (No. 3) and Carnell Williams of Auburn to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 5). Wide receiver Braylon Edwards of Michigan was the No. 3 pick by the Cleveland Browns.

Rounding out the top 10 NFL Draft selections were West Virginia defensive back Adam Jones (No. 6 by the Tennessee Titans), South Carolina wide receiver Troy Williamson (No. 7 by the Minnesota Vikings), Miami defensive back Antrel Rolle (No. 8 by the Arizona Cardinals), Auburn cornerback Carlos Rodgers (No. 8 by the Washington Redskins) and USC wide receiver Mike Williams (No. 10 by the Detroit Lions).

San Diego Riptide

The Riptide will be looking to even its record at 2-2 after suffering a 55-37 loss to the Tulsa Talons in its home opener April 23 when it hosts the Amarillo Dusters April 30. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at the ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena.

Asi Faoa of the Riptide earned Defensive Player of the Game honors by making three and a half sacks to set a new club single-game record. Also for the Riptide, Ryan Smith made to interceptions to earn Ironman of the Game honors.

On the offensive side for the Riptide, quarterback Anthony Buich completed 14 of 30 passes with four touchdowns while Kevin Feterik completed four of 10 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions in a reserve role.

Tulsa quarterback Josh Blanekship threw seven touchdowns – five to Donovan Morgan – while rushing for another to earn Offensive Player of the Game honors.

The Talons improved to 2-1 to secure first place in the National Conference West Division. The Riptide dropped to 1-2.

Holiday bowls

The NCAA has granted the organizers of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl a license to operate a second bowl game in San Diego. The game will be played on Thursday, Dec. 22, at Qualcomm Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Holiday Bowl officials reported that the name of the game, the title sponsor, logo, and bowl game beneficiary were to be revealed at a press conference on April 27 at the Hall of Champions Sports Museum in Balboa Park.

The new bowl game will pit a team from the Mountain West Conference against an at-large opponent that could come from either the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA or the United States Naval Academy.

The 2005 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl will kick off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29 at Qualcomm Stadium.