Linebacker lives it up off field

Picture this: A 4-foot-11, 90-pound seventh-grader who has never played football and the biggest guy in the middle school, a 16-year-old, bearded seventh-grader.\nIt's David and Goliath on the practice field to see who can reign as tackling champ. Except David goes down. Last seen, he was on the sidelines throwing up after getting the wind knocked out of him.\nFast forward to present and replace David with senior linebacker Justin Smith, a 6-foot, 218-pound Hoosier who has emerged as arguably one of the most pronounced players on the defense. \n"My dad thought I was going to quit," said Smith, whose favorite part of the game now is hitting people. "But I stuck to it and played that year. Then I finally went through puberty as a freshman, and I got a little bigger, a little stronger and a little faster."\nBy the time Smith reached high school, he had grown to a "whopping 145 pounds" and competed in four sports at Warren Central in Indianapolis.\nWhile he was dominating the mats in wrestling, Smith was also running track, playing baseball and positioned at cornerback in football.\n"I played corner all the way through high school," Smith said. "I got recruited as a free safety, but then when I came here they moved me back to corner, because I was the only guy who could cover the receivers. I've been all over the place and learned more about the game and the positions."\nAfter Smith's red-shirt season at safety, he was moved to outside linebacker. And that's where his defensive talent began to explode.\n Since playing at linebacker, Smith earned a spot on the 2001 pre-season Butkus Candidates award watch and was second-team Big Ten after the 2000 season. Smith's been the Big Ten Player-of-the-Week and for the last three seasons, he's made the Academic All-Big Ten list.\n"Justin is an all-around good player," junior cornerback A.C. Carter said. "He knows what he's doing, and he flies around and does what he is supposed to do. He brings enthusiasm to the team and that gets everyone else excited and ready to go."\nThis season, Smith leads the team in tackles with a combined total of 63 in six games. Fifty of those tackles were unassisted. \nBut don't think Smith's talents end on the football field. He earned his degree in accounting from the business school last spring after considering a pre-med major, among other things.\n"He's a smart guy," junior strong safety Joe Gonzalez said. "By just talking to him, you can understand that he takes a serious approach to education. He's a bright guy, and I wouldn't say nerdy, but he does put a focus on education."\nBut "serious" is not a word often used to describe Smith. \nLast summer, Gonzalez remembers walking around with a bunch of people everywhere, and one guy had a Halloween mask for no apparent reason.\nAs Gonzalez got closer to this old man's face, he looked into the eyes and a spark of familiarity hit him.\n"I looked in and saw his eyes, and I thought, 'Is that Justin?'" Gonzalez said, laughing. "Sure enough, he stands in front of me and sticks his tongue out the mouth of the mask. He was walking around with this mask on for no particular reason, and to this day, I don't know why he was doing it."\nNow that Smith finished his degree and his football career at IU is six weeks from being over, Smith has turned to other interests, including acting.\nDuring the summer, Smith had his first role in a play directed by a friend, and this past semester, Smith has been taking acting classes.\n"It's fun to do," Smith said. "I'm in a play now. I auditioned a couple weeks ago for this play, and I didn't know anything about the play. It's a Shakespearean play, 'The Merchant of Venice.' I'm the Prince of Morocco. It's a strong part to play."\nBut despite an accounting and acting background, playing in the NFL is what Smith wants.\n"That's my dream," Smith said. "That's what I've been wanting to do for a long time. I'm going to try to play at high level for the rest of the season, and God-willing everything will take care of itself"