First-round selection from 2009 draft was Bengals starting RT in ’12, a role he has held since October 2010 ... Helped RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis lead NFL in third-and-one rushing conversions (14), with Green-Ellis failing to convert only once ... Part of run-blocking effort for Green-Ellis to gain at least 100 yards four times in a five-game stretch (Games 10-12 and 14), with 168.2 team average in that span ... Saw action last season in 14 games and in Wild Card playoff ... Consensus 2008 All-America selection at Alabama, rated among the most powerful run blockers in Southeastern Conference history.
CAREER TRANSACTIONS: Selected by Cincinnati in first round of 2009 NFL Draft (sixth overall) ... Signed with Bengals on 8-30-09.
2012 GENERAL: One of 10 Bengals to start all 16 games ... Helped RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis rank first in NFL in third-and-one rushing conversions, edging Houston’s Arian Foster by one (14-13), and Green-Ellis had only 15 attempts to Foster’s 19.
2012 GAME-BY-GAME: On Sept. 16 vs. Cleveland, helped lead blocking effort for offensive output that netted 375 yards and 34 points ... Supported blocking effort Sept. 23 at Washington that netted season highs in yards (478) and points (38) ... Contributed to 382-yard output Sept. 30 at Jacksonville, with offense allowing no sacks ... Supported blocking effort Oct. 14 at Cleveland that paved way for 438 yards of total offense ... In Nov. 11 win vs. Giants that started season’s second-half surge, helped offense allow no sacks for third game on the year ... Supported 189 team rushing yards Nov. 18 at Kansas City ... Supported season-best 221 rushing yards, with 6.5 average, Nov. 25 vs. Oakland ... On Dec. 2 at San Diego, supported third straight 100-yard rushing game for BenJarvus Green-Ellis (25-118) and helped lead pass protection that allowed only one sack for zero yards ... Helped support blocking effort for team’s 146 net rushing yards Dec. 9 vs. Dallas ... In Thursday night win Dec. 13 at Philadelphia, aided rushing effort of 41-for-157 (3.8) and season-best 37:40 possession time, with Green-Ellis (106) becoming only second player in team history to have four 100-yard rushing totals in span of five games.
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2009—Missed most of preseason due to contract negotiations, then suffered fracture in left foot on Sept. 1 (his first week of practice) ... Was on roster exemption for season opener, Sept. 13 vs. Denver ... Added to roster Sept. 14, and returned to practice the week of Game 7 ... Game day inactive for Games 2-10 ... Played in Games 11-16, and credited with one start ... Made NFL debut Nov. 29 vs. Cleveland ... Supported three individual 100-yard rushing efforts over season’s final six games, and aided a Bengals playoff record of 169 rushing yards by RB Cedric Benson in Wild Card playoff 1-9-10 vs. N.Y. Jets.
2010—Played in seven games ... Claimed No. 1 RT position in Games 6-8, but suffered foot fracture (fifth metatarsal) in practice Nov. 10, forcing him to Reserve/Injured list on Nov. 13 ... Helped offense rank fifth in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed per passing play (one every 22.07 plays) ... Aided offensive outputs of 469 yards on Oct. 24 at Atlanta (the most by the team since Game 2 of 2007), and 413 yards on Oct. 3 at Cleveland.
2011—Started at RT in Games 1-12 and 15-16, and in Wild Card playoff ... Left Game 12, Dec. 4 at Pittsburgh, due to ankle injury, and was inactive for Games 13-14 ... Contributed to pass protection that ranked tied for fourth in NFL in fewest sacks allowed (25) ... On Sept. 11 at Cleveland averted a major offensive giveaway by recovering an Andy Dalton fumble at Bengals eight-yard line ... Helped team rush 32-for-171 (5.3 average) Oct. 2 vs. Buffalo, including 104 yards for RB Cedric Benson ... On Oct. 16 vs. Indianapolis, supported pass-protection effort that held Colts for the first time on season without a sack, playing primarily against standout DE Robert Mathis ... Aided 165-yard rushing total Dec. 24 vs. Arizona.
COLLEGE: Played three seasons (2006-08) at Alabama, entering NFL Draft after his junior year ... Started 38 games at LT over three seasons, and was credited with 46 TD-producing blocks ... Was only the seventh true freshman in Crimson Tide history to start his first game in the program ... As a junior in 2007, he shared SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy with Arkansas C Jonathan Luigs, who was a Bengal in ’09.
SMITH MAKES IT FIVE: As a junior at Alabama, Smith won the 2008 Outland Trophy, the “Heisman” for linemen. The award currently goes to the player voted as the nation’s top offensive lineman or interior defensive lineman. In earlier years, defensive ends were also eligible. Smith is the fifth Bengal to have won the Outland, joining DT Mike Reid (1969 winner, Penn State), DE Ross Browner (1976, Notre Dame), C Dave Rimington (1981 and ’82, Nebraska) and DE Jason Buck (1986, Brigham Young). All five of the Bengals Outland winners were first-round draft choices by Cincinnati.
PERSONAL: Hometown is Birmingham, Ala. ... Attended Huffman High School, where he was the consensus top-rated offensive lineman in the nation as a senior ... Also as a prep senior, became the first OL to win the state of Alabama’s “Mr. Football” award ... General studies major at Alabama.
