When the Mean Green football team opens its season tomorrow evening against the Texas Longhorns, the No. 12 will be on the back of the UNT players' helmets and on the UNT coaches' sleeves in memory of Andrew Smith.

Smith, a quarterback from Bay City who wore No. 12, was killed in an automobile accident near Calvert Aug. 7, four days before the team began fall practice. His funeral service was held Aug. 14 in his hometown, and he will be remembered by the campus during halftime of the Mean Green's first home game, Sept. 11 against Florida Atlantic. UNT players and coaches will continue to wear Smith's No. 12 for the entire season.

Smith, an applied arts and sciences major who was a redshirt freshman in 2002, had two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Mean Green football team.

No player will wear a No. 12 jersey through the 2005 season. In addition, Smith's locker has been sealed off with Plexiglas as a tribute, and his jersey will be hung at the locker room doors for players to touch on their way out to the field.

In Smith's first two years, he played in 20 games, including 16 as the team's starting quarterback. While still a freshman, Smith was forced into the starting role for the final 12 games of the season when starter Scott Hall was injured in the season opener. Smith proceeded to lead the team to an 8-4 record as a starter and a victory over Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl that year.

He began the 2003 season as the starting quarterback before Hall regained the spot in the fifth game of the season. Smith was expected to challenge Hall for the starting quarterback position this season.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Drought to serve as interim dean of School of Visual Arts
• Student group working toward new health and wellness center
• UNT scholarships benefit from eBay
• Ticket changes at Fouts Field this fall
• UNT receives $450,000 in research funding
• Lab specials available for faculty and staff at Student Health and Wellness Center
• Faculty honored at convocation ceremony
• Payroll deduction can be used until Sept. 10 for Student Recreation Center memberships
• Academic Kickoff gives high school students a dose of college experience
• Elm Fork Education Center makes science fun for the whole family with series
• Dance and theatre 2004-05 season tickets for sale

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