St. Louis Post-Dispatch · Apr 19, 2020
Matter's Best at Mizzou: No. 8, Justin Smith
(9/25/99 Saturday) Columbia, MO.--Missouri's #96 Justin Smith DE sacks Nebraska QB Eric Crouch as he attempts to throw in the first half. PHOTO BY ROBERT COHEN/Post-Dispatch ( Justin Smith ( 96 ) and the Missouri defense are giving up 34 points and 398 yars per game. )Justin Smith knows how to make a first impression.
The Missouri football coaches knew they were getting a good player when they signed the Jefferson City High defensive lineman in 1998. Then he arrived on campus that summer. The hulking 6-foot-4, 250-pound farm boy from Holts Summit was no ordinary freshman.