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′5″ and, 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 3½ sacks and was penalized five times. With Baylor running a spread offense since the arrival of new head coachArt Briles, Smith was usually in a two-point stance for pass protection, which caused NFL scouts to question his run blocking ability.
At the 2009 NFL Combine, Smith recorded the 11th-fastest 40-yard dash, tied for the fourth-most repetitions in the bench press, and was sixth in the three-cone drill among all offensive linemen who participated. He scored a 23 on the Wonderlic Test. Smith drew comparisons to Ryan Clady. Smith was drafted second overall in the 2009 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He was Baylor's first first-round draft pick since Daryl Gardener in 1996.
St. Louis Rams
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.
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.
