COLUMBIA | Sometimes, Brian Coulter doesn&rsquo;t recognize his own roommate and Missouri teammate, Aldon Smith.</p><p>&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t know just how good he can be,&rdquo; Coulter said.</p><p>After Smith&rsquo;s performances against Texas and Colorado, that seems obvious.</p><p>Against the Longhorns, Aldon Smith recorded four unassisted tackles for 11 yards in losses, two sacks of quarterback Colt McCoy.</p><p>Against the Buffaloes, Smith had five tackles, four for 35 yards in losses. Three were sacks of quarterback Tyler Hansen. Smith also recovered a fumble and batted down a third-down pass at the line of scrimmage.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing what he can do,&rdquo; Coulter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in shock. I&rsquo;m at a loss for words.&rdquo;</p><p>That should tell you a lot. Brian Coulter, a loquacious senior, is never at a loss for words. Particularly not when the subject is Smith, who has emerged from the cocoon of potential to become &mdash; as just a redshirt freshman &mdash; an iron butterfly.</p><p>&ldquo;J-Mac (Jeremy Maclin) could do that,&rdquo; Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said of his former two-time All-America return man and receiver. &ldquo;He could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and end up where the ball&rsquo;s supposed to be.&rdquo;</p><p>Pinkel included former MU quarterbacks Brad Smith and Chase Daniel as players of that special type. And now, Aldon Smith, just two seasons removed from Raytown High.</p><p>&ldquo;There are not many people created like that,&rdquo; Pinkel said.</p><p>Smith says he didn&rsquo;t expect so much success so soon. His eight sacks are just three short of the Missouri season record held by former All-America defensive end Justin Smith. His 13 unassisted tackles for loss are second in the Big 12 to Texas A&M&rsquo;s Von Miller, who has 15.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m kind of surprised,&rdquo; Smith said as Missouri prepared for its home game with Baylor on Saturday afternoon. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve come a long way.&rdquo;</p><p>Few realize how far.</p><p>Prior to his junior year in high school, Smith moved from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to live with his father in Raytown. Smith&rsquo;s mother had just moved to Georgia.</p><p>He arrived with something less than the best attitude.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I was too coachable,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I thought I knew it all.&rdquo;</p><p>Midway through an all-state senior season, Smith committed to play football at Missouri. But academic credits transferred from Cedar Rapids to Raytown did not easily translate from the Iowa quarter system to the Missouri semester format. His NCAA eligibility was flagged.</p><p>Not until three days before Missouri&rsquo;s 2008 season opener against Illinois was Smith cleared to play. By then he had missed too much practice time. Redshirted, Smith simmered inside.</p><p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know who was trying to screw me on the whole thing,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I still don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>He suspected everyone.</p><p>&ldquo;Aldon had a lot of trust issues,&rdquo; Coulter said. &ldquo;I guess he thought everybody was kind of against him.</p><p>&ldquo;Last year, to be honest with you, we didn&rsquo;t really speak the whole year. Even during the bowl game. I forgot he was even on the football team.&rdquo;</p><p>In January, that changed. Having spent much of his own youth in a group home, having been promised and then denied a scholarship at Florida State, Coulter knew a lot about loneliness and rejection.</p><p>&ldquo;I had a feeling for him as far as the trust issues,&rdquo; Coulter said, &ldquo;because I had &rsquo;em myself in the past.&rdquo;</p><p>Out of their common feelings of alienation, Coulter and Smith found a common bond. Their friendship grew through the spring, the summer. When August practice began, they had decided to room together.