Jason Smith (American football)

Jason Smith (born April 30, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the St. Louis Rams with the second overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. He played college football for the Baylor Bears. As a professional, he was a member of the Rams, the New York Jets, and the New Orleans Saints.

Early life
Smith attended W. T. White High School, in Dallas, Texas. He was a First-team All-District honors as a sophomore and junior as an offensive tackle. As a senior, he was moved to tight end, catching seven passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. He was rewarded with All-District honors as a senior.

At 6 ft and 220 lb, Smith did not have ideal size and was only considered a two-star prospect by Rivals.com. He drew few scholarship offers and committed to Baylor on the same day that he received his offer.

College career
After redshirting his first season at Baylor, Smith played tight end in 2005, appearing in 11 games, starting eight. He caught 6 passes for 70 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore in 2006, he was moved to the offensive line and started all 12 games of his sophomore season at right tackle. Despite missing several games due to a sprained knee, Smith earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention as he started seven games at left tackle as a junior.

Prior to his senior year, Smith graduated a year early from the school in May 2008, having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in recreation. As a senior in 2008 he was an All-American selection and an All-Big 12 Conference selection as well. Smith was named Baylor's co-Most Valuable Player. He was credited by the school with 96 knockdown blocks, which were the most ever by a Baylor offensive lineman. Smith gave up $3 1/2$ sacks and was penalized five times. With Baylor running a spread offense since the arrival of new head coach Art Briles, Smith was usually in a two-point stance for pass protection, which caused NFL scouts to question his run blocking ability.

College awards and honors

 * 2008 First-team All-Big 12
 * 2008 Associated Press and Rivals.com Third-team All-American
 * 2008 Football Writers Association of America All-American
 * 2008 Pro Football Weekly honorable mention All-American

Pre-draft
At the 2009 NFL Combine, Smith recorded the 11th-fastest 40-yard dash (5.09 seconds), tied for the fourth-most repetitions in the bench press (33), and was sixth in the three-cone drill (7.53 seconds) among all offensive linemen who participated. He scored a 23 on the Wonderlic Test. Smith drew comparisons to Ryan Clady.

St. Louis Rams
Smith was selected in the first round with the second overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. He was Baylor's first first-round draft pick since Daryl Gardener in 1996. On July 30, 2009, the Rams agreed to terms with Smith on a six-year contract worth up to $61 million, with $33 million in guarantees.

As a rookie in 2009, Smith played mostly right tackle, although he played some left tackle, the position for which he was drafted. In his rookie season, Smith suffered a serious concussion November 22, 2009. "My situation was real serious," Smith related, and it caused him to miss the remainder of his rookie season. In 2010, Smith was beaten out by rookie Rodger Saffold.

New York Jets (first stint)
The St. Louis Rams agreed to trade Smith to the New York Jets in exchange for tackle Wayne Hunter on August 27, 2012. He was released from the Jets on February 19, 2013.

New Orleans Saints
On April 11, 2013, Smith signed with the New Orleans Saints. On August 21, 2013, he was released by the Saints.

New York Jets (second stint)
On August 23, 2013, Smith was re-signed by the Jets. He was released on August 31, 2013.