In 2024, Alex Smith made history as Utah’s first student-athlete inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Remarkably, he only started one full season for the Utes, but it was a season for the ages. So good, in fact, that Smith was selected No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, ahead of stars like Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, Antrel Rolle, DeMarcus Ware, and, of course, Aaron Rodgers.
Utah’s Unstoppable 2004 Run: The Season That Changed Alex Smith’s Future
Born in Bremerton, Washington, Smith grew up in La Mesa, California, where his father served as the executive director at Helix High School — the very school Smith would later attend.
Smith was a late bloomer on the football field, taking over as the starting varsity QB in his junior year. But once he got his shot, he never looked back. He led the Highlanders to a dominant 25-1 record and back-to-back San Diego CIF section championships. Along the way, he earned conference Offensive Player of the Year honors and first-team all-conference and all-county selections in both seasons.
Though Smith dominated the San Diego high school scene, he shared the spotlight with a running back who would go on to become one of the faces of college football: Reggie Bush.
Despite his success on and off the field — he was president of his senior class and earned 64 college credits — Smith didn’t receive many scholarship offers. But all it takes is one program to believe in you, and for Smith, that was Utah.
He spent his freshman year on the bench, but after a 5-6 campaign, the Utes parted ways with longtime head coach Ron McBride. Enter Urban Meyer. Fresh of 8-3 and 9-3 seasons in his first head-coaching role at Bowling Green, Meyer was ready to revolutionize Utah football, and he used a little-known Californian QB to help him do so.
At the start of the 2003 season, Smith served as the primary backup … until starter Brett Elliott suffered an injury in Week 2. In his first real collegiate action, Smith gave Utes fans a taste of what was to come, as he completed 5-of-7 passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns to defeat Utah State 40-20.
Just as he had in high school, once Smith was named the starter, he seized the role and never looked back.
Smith’s first start came in Week 3 against Cal — a game that led to junior college transfer Aaron Rodgers snatching the stating job away for the incumbent Reggie Robertson.
With the offense struggling to move the chains and down 14-0 in the first quarter, the Bears handed the keys to Rodgers, leading to a back-and-forth nail-biter.
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Rodgers gave Cal its first lead with a 21-yard strike to the end zone at the bottom of the third quarter, heading into the final frame up 24-21. However, Smith orchestrated two critical scoring drives on the Utes’ final possessions. Utah first tied the game with a field goal, then capitalized on a missed Cal field goal with a 10-play, 63-yard TD drive, leaving just over a minute on the clock for Rodgers.
Though the Cal QB would later become one of the most clutch players in the NFL, his journey began with humble roots. The Bears’ final comeback attempt ended with Rodgers fumbling the ball to Utah, sealing the victory for the Utes.
Smith and Rodgers’ careers would forever be linked after this game, but they didn’t know it at the time. Smith went on to rattle off a 9-1 record in Utah’s final 10 games of the season, including in the Liberty Bowl. Even more impressive, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics that offseason, thanks in large part to the head start he got during high school.
However, no one could’ve expected the heights the Utes were about to achieve in 2004. Under the tutelage of Meyer and with Smith at the helm of the offense, Utah went undefeated, scoring 40+ points in 10 of 12 contests, including 63-point explosions against UNLV and Colorado State.
The all-consuming campaign reached its pinnacle with a 35-7 rout of No. 19 Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl. Reflecting on that season, Smith told the Salt Lake City Tribune in January 2024, “I think we would have beaten anybody that year. We executed so well. We had athletes. We were so solid. We were good, even better than the [2008] team.”
Smith went on to place fourth in the Heisman voting, finishing one spot ahead of his former high school teammate, USC RB Reggie Bush, marking the first time in the award’s history that high school teammates were finalists.
Even with the team enjoying never-before-seen success, Smith hadn’t fully grasped his own. “It was surreal. I played that whole season in college and never had a single inkling that the NFL was a possibility,” he admitted, underscoring how unexpectedly his rise to the professional ranks unfolded.
Smith declared for the draft that offseason, closing the door on a collegiate career that concluded with 5,203 passing yards, 47 passing TDs, 1,072 rushing yards, 15 rushing scores, and a 21-1 record.
His impact endures in Utah’s history books, where he ranks in the top 10 for 16 career statistics and holds the top spots for career passing efficiency (164.42) and yards per completion (13.38).
Team success. Impressive statistics. A 6’4″ and 220-pound dual-threat frame. Lauded football IQ. Intangibles. Smith had it all, and it was clear he was the top QB in the 2005 NFL Draft. But with the No. 1 pick, the San Francisco 49ers didn’t just make Smith the top QB; they made him the top player overall.
Smith went on to play 16 years in the NFL, earning three Pro Bowl invitations and the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award after returning to the field from a gruesome leg injury that almost took his life.
From 2005 to 2020, Smith made his mark with San Francisco (2005-12), Kansas City (2013-17), and Washington (2018-20), suiting up for 174 games. Over his career, he unleashed 3,250 completions for 35,650 yards and tossed 199 touchdowns.
However, he flamed out with the 49ers before revitalizing his career with Andy Reid and the Chiefs. On NFL HQ in 2008, former Niners HC Mike Nolan was asked about the franchise’s decision to take Smith over Rodgers.
“Basically, we thought, in the long term, Alex Smith would be the better choice than Aaron,” Nolan said. “I think we became too much involved — It’s one of those paralysis through analysis because we had so much time to think about it. We put a lot of stock in changing Aaron’s throwing style. We also got caught up in Alex was so mobile.
“But in the end, we felt that Alex would be better the better long-term guy — obviously, we were wrong in that thought process. The other thing was Alex was a good kid, a very good person, a very safe choice. On the other hand, Aaron was very cocky, very confident, arrogant.”
With Rodgers becoming a future Hall of Famer and winning a Super Bowl, it’s is easy to retroactively say the 49ers made the wrong decision. But don’t let that overshadow Smith’s remarkable rise and significant impact on the game of football.
“Alex was like my son,” Meyer said. “I was real close to Alex. I watched coordinator after coordinator come out of there. The defense was ranked near the bottom every year. It’s a really bad team. And all of a sudden, it’s, ‘Well, Alex can’t play.’ And I’m thinking, ‘What are you talking about? Alex certainly can play.'”
In 2020, former national championship-winning Florida QB Tim Tebow told The Athletic, “Gosh, it’s hard to even kind of put into numbers how many hours of film I watched of Alex running all of the plays that we were going to run at Florida. We went over so much of Alex’s film. The way that Urban and Dan Mullen talked about him … the gold standard.”
“It’s absolutely true,” responded Meyer, who won three national championships before retiring in 2019. “Yeah, (Alex) became the prototype. He became the guy that we’ve been recruiting.”
Despite the debate over his draft position and the eventual triumphs of Aaron Rodgers, Smith’s legacy endures. His storied college career, highlighted by record-breaking performances and a flawless season with the Utes, laid the foundation for a successful 16-year NFL career.
Smith’s resilience, both on and off the field, and his indelible mark on football ensure that his story is remembered not just for the decisions made by others but for the extraordinary achievements he accomplished through his own dedication and perseverance.
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