Blazer Names to Know: #41 Mastaki Smith

Starting at Middle ("Mike") Linebacker is #41 Mastaki Smith. Like fellow member of The Funky Bunch (I'm going to make that stick, damn it!) Marcus Mark, Smith had been a special teams standout his first two seasons with the Blazers before earning the starting job in the middle of last season. Smith finished '05 as the #3 tackler with 60 stops (including 29 solo hits, 2 TFLs and 1 sack). Incredibly, half of those 60 came in a three game span against Memphis, UCF and UTEP, with the UCF and UTEP games providing Smith with double digit games. Coming out of spring practice, Smith is still the clear No. 1, though look for sophomore Kris Guyton to work into the rotation regularly.