Gator Greats: Emmitt Smith
Friday, August 25, 2006 | Football
As part of the celebration of the 100th season of Florida football, gatorzone.com will run a series of historical features throughout the preseason and the 2006 campaign. The series will give Gator fans an appreciation and understanding of the past teams and players that helped build the Gator football program.
During preseason practice, readers can learn about ground-breaking Florida teams of the past on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the “Great Teams and Eras” series. In addition to those stories, each Friday from the beginning of preseason practice until the season's first game will feature a look at one of Florida's legendary players as part of the “Gator Greats” series.
Once the season is underway, the look back in time will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays with “Rivalries and Series” and “Great Games” entries relevant to the week's opponent. Occasionally, additional stories will be unveiled on Wednesday of game weeks when the opportunity arises.
As the 2006 football season approaches, take some time to sit back and reflect on the teams, players and moments that all lead up to this, the 100th season of Florida Gator football.
Emmitt Smith
A unanimous first-team All-America selection in 1989, Emmitt Smith produced one of the most decorated careers in both Florida and NCAA history. Regarded by many as “too small” or “too slow,” the Pensacola, Fla., native broke 58 school records en route to rushing for 3,928 yards and 36 touchdowns in only three seasons as a Gator.
After picking up Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year honors and finishing ninth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1987, Smith tallied 1,599 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior in 1989. Those stats earned him the 1989 SEC Player of the Year award, as well as a seventh-place showing in the Heisman race. He was also a three-time All-SEC pick during his college career.
The Dallas Cowboys selected Smith in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft, and he went on to enjoy 15 stellar NFL seasons with the Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. Along the way, the former Gator led the NFL in rushing four times (1991-93, 1995) and rushing touchdowns three times (1992, 1994, 1995) and was named to eight Pro Bowls. He also took home the NFL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player hardware in 1990 and 1993, respectively.
Smith, however, seemed to save his best performances for the biggest stage in football. He earned three Super Bowl rings and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII during his tenure in Dallas. He rushed 71 times for 289 yards, caught 11 passes for 56 yards and scored a career Super Bowl record five touchdowns in those three contests.
Smith is the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards, with 18,355, and rushing touchdowns, with 164, and his 175 total touchdowns rank him second to only Jerry Rice's 207 scores in the all-time annals. The sum of his rushing yards, receiving yards (3,224) and fumble return yards (-15) give him a total of 21,564 yards from the line of scrimmage, making Smith one of only four players in NFL history to eclipse the 21,000-combined yards mark.
One of the all-time Gator greats, Smith was chosen for the Gainesville Sun's UF Team of the Century in 1999. He will be officially enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., during ceremonies next summer.
What they've said about Emmitt Smith (taken from a 1989 Florida game program) …
“So he's not huge, so others are faster. Who cares what Emmitt Smith isn't? What matters is what he is – the purest runner to come along in years, a natural wonder.”
Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal
“Emmitt Smith isn't the biggest or the fastest back that we have seen, but we have seen no one with his vision. He finds creases in the defense that no other running back ever sees. It's incredible to me how he turns his hips in a hole and gets three yards out of nothing. He has tremendous strength and drive after getting hit the first time.”
Pat Hayden, CBS
“Emmitt J. Smith III isn't flashy like Walter Payton, or a man-mountain like Herschel Walker or an Olympian sprinter in pads. Instead, Smith uses a dab of strength, a pinch of speed, a healthy dose of balance and a fine pair of eyes to get the job done. He glides and glides – and then he's gone. He has a nice, friendly face, boyish full. But there is something about his eyes, they remind me of Walter Payton. Under a helmet and behind a facemask, Emmitt Smith could pass for Payton's twin.”
Billy Walkins, Jackson (Miss.) Daily News
“Emmitt Smith spits out 100-yard games like a Xerox spits out 8-by-10 copies.”
Mike Bianchi, Florida Today
“What Emmitt Smith does have is superb vision and the balance of Karl Wallanda. He doesn't run as much as he skates, skimming along like an egg on a Teflon skillet, setting up his beefy convoy of blockers and scudding through the slightest puncture in the defense.”
Jere Longman, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Boy, can this young man run. He's not the biggest of the backs or the fastest of the backs. What makes him so special, however, are his instincts and pure talent. In short, he is football's answer to Roy Hobbs – Emmitt Smith is The Natural.”
Tim Brando, ESPN
