The Moment I Knew 49ers Legend Aldon Smith was Special

I'll never forget this.

Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

I'll never forget the first time I saw Aldon Smith play football on the 49ers' practice field.

This was 2011, his rookie year, and my first season covering the team. That offseason, the NFL locked out the players from March to July, so there were no spring practices. My first exposure to Smith came in training camp.

The 49ers had taken Smith with the 7th pick in Round 1, and his selection was a bit controversial because the 49ers ran a 3-4 defense. Smith was a 4-3 defensive end at Missouri. How would he fit the 49ers' scheme? Should they have taken edge rusher Robert Quinn instead? Or how about a quarterback such as Blaine Gabbert or Christian Ponder?

On the first day of training camp, Smith warmed up and went through drills with the linebackers. He even wore No. 48 -- they didn't get him No. 99 until the season started. He looked awkward.

During this portion of practice, the linebackers practiced stacking and shedding blocking sleds. Right away, you could tell that Smith didn't know how to do this. Veteran linebacker Parys Haralson (rest in peace), had to demonstrate for Smith as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told him what to do.

"The first-round pick doesn't even know how to play his position," I remembered thinking. "What a mistake it was to draft him."

A few minutes later, the players started doing one-on-one drills, meaning the wide receivers run routes against the cornerbacks, and the defensive linemen practice their pass-rush moves agaisnt the offensive linemen.

The first rep of this exercise was Smith against Joe Staley, who was the starting left tackle. Staley probably was the fourth-best player on the team at the time behind Patrick Willis, Frank Gore and Justin Smith. And Staley was in his prime. I fully expected him to school the rookie. Staley probably expected to school him, too.

The first time they faced each other, Smith grabbed Staley by his shoulder pads, lifted him off his feet and walked him back into the quarterback's lap. I'll never forget the panic Staley's eyes.

They faced each other a few more times, and Staley never beat him. Not once. He simply couldn't get his hands on Smith, because Smith's arms were so long. He was at Smith's mercy.

Smith was 21 at the time. After just one practice, he had shown that he was better than the fourth-best player on the team. By the end of the second season, he might have been the best player in the NFL. He set the record for most sacks in the first two seasons of a career. He could have been one of the all-time greats instead of a tragic figure.

This the story I'll tell my grandchildren one day if they ever ask who Aldon Smith was.