Rodney Smith (running back)

After redshirting during the 2014 season, Smith played in 12 of Minnesota's 13 games as a redshirt freshman during the 2015 season, rushing 157 times for 670 yards and 2 touchdowns.[1]

During his sophomore campaign, Smith took the lead role in the Gophers' backfield, starting the majority of games while splitting the overall workload with fellow sophomore Shannon Brooks.[8] During the regular season, Smith rushed for 1,084 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning third-team all-Big Ten honors for his efforts. The 15 touchdowns would also rank, at the time, as the third most rushing touchdowns in a single season for a Gophers running back.[9] The Gophers would qualify for the Holiday Bowl, taking on Washingston State. Smith starred in the game, leading all rushers with 17 carries for 74 yards and added a touchdown, which earned him the offensive MVP award for the Holiday Bowl.[10][11]

Smith continued to be the lead back for the Gophers during the 2017 season, sharing carries with Shannon Brooks and Kobe McCrary, but saw his production decrease as the production of the offense as a whole decreased. This was due to many factors, mainly a first-year head coach in PJ Fleck, a first-year offensive coordinator in Kirk Ciarrocca, as well as inconsistent QB play after the departure of 3-year starter Mitch Leidner. Still, Smith ran for 977 yards, which was 7th in the Big Ten, as well as 3 touchdowns that earned him an all-Big Ten honorable mention from the coaches and media.[12]

Smith started off his senior campaign in 2018 with a bang, rushing for a (then) career-high 156 yards against New Mexico State in a 48-10 victory. However, in the next game against Fresno State, on just the third play from scrimmage, Smith tore his ACL on his left knee.[13] This injury kept him out for the remainder of the season. Smith was then granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA, having already redshirted once during his first year on campus.[14]

As a 6th year senior, Smith once again emerged as the primary ball carrier, while sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim and fellow senior Shannon Brooks also shared the workload. After a relatively slow start in the Gophers' three non-conference games, Smith ran for over 100 yards and at least 1 touchdown in each of the first five conference games, including a career-high 211 yard performance on just 24 carries against Illinois. Smith finished the season with a career-high 1,163 rushing yards. That number was good for 3rd in the Big Ten, behind only JK Dobbins and Jonathan Taylor. He also ran for 8 touchdowns, and was awarded all-Big Ten 2nd team honors by both the coaches and media.[15] Smith left Minnesota 2nd all-time in rushing, with 4,125 yards, 6th all-time in rushing touchdowns, with 29, 2nd all-time in yards from scrimmage, with 4,646, and 1st all-time in all-purpose yards, with 5,444.[16]

Smith's statistics are as follows:[17]