Had the Missouri coaching staff discovered Bradley Alexander Smith in 2020 instead of 2000 there’s no chance he would have sat out his freshman year and practiced with the scout team. These days, even the most stable and secure coaching staff would rush to maximize such a gifted athlete before he was off to NFL riches.
Back then, Pinkel’s assistants suspected Smith was something special shortly after practices began in 2001, their first year at Mizzou, especially the defensive staffers whose unit played against Smith every day in practice. At least one of them lobbied Pinkel to pull the redshirt off the 17-year-old quarterback.