When the San Francisco 49ers used their number one overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft on Utah's golden boy Alex Smith, it was a big moment not only in Alex's life, but also for the 49ers franchise, which was coming off a miserable 2-14 season.

Many knew it would not be an easy task for the young rookie, who would take the field in San Francisco under the shadows of former great quarterbacks such as Joe Montana and Steve Young, who both enjoyed very successful careers and also won a combined five Super Bowls for the 49ers.

However, with all the pressure Smith seemed poised, determined and ready to step up to the difficult challenge that was ahead of him.

In his rookie season, he was the backup quarterback behind Tim Rattay and Smith used that time to learn the playbook, improve his work ethic and get used to the speed of the NFL. He started seven games in 2005, which turned out to be a rough season for him. But, that was expected for a rookie, who was forced to learn quickly and under heavy fire. In those games, he ended up throwing only one touchdown, along with 11 interceptions.

Heading into 2006, a lot of changes took place in San Francisco. Smith was named the starting quarterback for the 49ers, he had a brand new offensive coordinator in Norv Turner, and the 49ers brought in offensive players such as Frank Gore and rookie Vernon Davis to try and help the leagues worst offense.

In the first three games of the season, it seemed to help out significantly as Smith began to get comfortable in the new system. He played very solid and threw for three touchdowns, no interceptions and over 800 yards.

Two weeks later he set a career record with three touchdown passes in a victory against the Bay area rivals the Oakland Raiders.

That early success, however, did not carry on very far, as the 49ers offense once again began to lose momentum. Over the next five games, Smith struggled averaging only 153 yards per game, throwing six touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Despite the struggling offense, Smith led the 49ers to a three-game win streak in November and actually had the team in the hunt for the playoffs. However, after heartbreaking losses to division rivals St. Louis and Arizona, many around the Bay area began questioning Smith's ability to lead their team to the playoffs.

The San Francisco 49ers then traveled to Seattle in a Thursday Night showdown against the NFC West's top team. Many had already begun to count the 49ers out, but Smith had other things in mind and played like he had something to prove to the doubters.

The 49ers were trailing 7-3 in the fourth quarter, when Smith stepped up his game to a new level. He executed brilliantly, driving the 49ers down the field early to score their first touchdown of the game to give the 49ers a 10-7 lead.

Later in the quarter, Smith did it again, as he shook off a sack and hit Frank Gore for a touchdown to give San Francisco a 17-7 lead. But, he was not finished.

On the final drive, he once again moved the 49ers down the field and clinched the victory with a naked bootleg for a touchdown.  Many believed that – finally --  they were seeing the young quarterback from Utah begin to break out of his shell and become the number one man in San Francisco.

However, as good as that game was, the very next week the 49ers lost again, this time to the Arizona Cardinals in a hard fought game that ended their hopes for a wild card spot.

In his first full season as a starter, Smith improved greatly in many areas, and gained many supporters, not only within the organization, but also from the loyal 49er faithful. He finished the season with 16 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 2,890 yards and a respectable QB rating of 74.8.

The beginning of the 2007 season was an exciting one for the 49ers. Many experts and fans believed that San Francisco would be able to make a run at the NFC West title, and be a competitive team.

The 49ers had brought in more offensive weapons in Ashley Lelie and Darrell Jackson. Smith, however, had to learn from his third different offensive coordinator in three years when Norv Turner took the head coaching job in San Diego. He was replaced by Jeff Hostler, who used some of Turner's offense mixed in with the West Coast offense, and the results would prove to be disastrous.

In the Monday night season opener against Arizona, Smith led the 49ers to a 20-17 victory in a late drive comeback in which he scrambled and passed the ball down the field to set up the game winning touchdown run from Arnaz Battle in the closing seconds. 

The next week, Smith led the 49ers to another victory over division rivals St. Louis. The 49ers started out 2-0 and things seemed to be okay in the bay.

On September 30th, Smith was injured when he was sacked by Seattle's Rocky Bernard. He suffered a third-degree separation and was forced to miss the next three weeks.

The 49ers then fell from the top of the division hard and fast, not winning another game until late November. Smith was also struggling after his return, as he posted a pathetic 52.7 QB rating.

The frustration began to boil over, and soon Smith was at odds with head coach Mike Nolan over the severity of the injury. On December 11th, Smith was placed on injuired reserve ending his 2007 season. In total, Smith started in only seven games in 2007, throwing two touchdowns, four interceptions, 914 yards and had a 48.7 QB rating.

Coming into the 2008 season, Smith is expected to compete for the starting job with Shaun Hill, who went 2-0 in 2007 and played well late in the season with wins over Cincinnati and Tampa Bay. Hill also threw five touchdowns, with only one interception and finished with a 101.3 QB rating. 

Smith will also be learning from his fourth different offensive coordinator in four years, as the 49ers brought in Mike Martz from Detroit, who is known around the league as an offensive mastermind.

San Francisco also added more offensive weapons, bringing in Isaac Bruce and DeShaun Foster to help the struggling offense. Martz's relationship with Smith has been watched very closely in mini camps and OTA's this off-season, as everyone knows their working relationship will be a determining factor in the 49ers success this season.

With all the money and time the 49er's have invested in Smith, it would be hard for them to simply make him the back up quarterback. However, many believe that this will be Smith's make or break year.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens once the San Francisco 49ers take the field for training camp in July. I have a feeling that's when the heat will be turned all the way up on Smith.