Emmitt Smith Is Gator on the Loose

In one sharp cut at Florida Field three weeks ago, Emmitt Smith restored his team’s running game and its confidence.

The Florida Gators slumped to 6-5 last season as the departure of running backs Neal Anderson and John L. Williams crippled the ground game. Both players were selected in the first round of the NFL draft and Florida averaged just 130 yards per game rushing in 1986.

When the Gators won a recruiting battle against Auburn and signed Smith to a letter of intent, quarterback Kerwin Bell had the help he needed in reviving the Gator attack.

“Emmitt looks like he’s moving in slow motion,” says Bell about the 5-foot-10, 201-pound freshman tailback. “He doesn’t have the sharp cuts of a Neal Anderson, but he glides back and forth. Let’s put it this way, he’s a natural.”

Smith, 18, ran for 8,804 yards at Pensacola’s Escambia High School to finish as the No. 3 career rusher in prep history. He played sparingly in the season opener at Miami as the Gators were crushed 31-4 to drop out of the Top 20. Coming off the bench at home against Tulsa Sept. 12, Smith triggered a 52-0 rout with a 66-yard touchdown run.

“It was a little delay play up the middle and a hole opened up just as wide as can be,” says Smith, who broke sharply to the left sidelines and outraced safety Chris Briscoe. “If I would have got caught from behind, I would have felt real bad.”

After gaining 109 yards in only 10 carries against Tulsa, Smith burst into stardom the next week in Birmingham. Playing against an Alabama team that had just upset national champion Penn State, Smith started his first game as a collegian and promptly broke the school record for carries (39) and rushing yardage (224) in Florida’s 23-14 triumph.

He continued the onslaught in a 38-3 drubbing of Mississippi State, gaining 173 yards in 20 carries before Coach Galen Hall declared mercy.

“Smith is good, he’s as good as Brent Fullwood and Bo Jackson,” says Mississippi State defensive tackle Anthony Butts, who has faced Auburn’s former All-America tailbacks. “He’s real elusive and hard to get a good hit on. He’s a pure running back.”

With Smith shedding tacklers and displaying remarkable patience in finding holes, the Gator running game has flourished. Instead of last season’s average of 3.3 yards per carry, Florida’s backs are pounding out five yards per attempt and the offensive line has been inspired by Smith’s presence.

“An offensive line likes nothing better than seeing a back give that second effort, because that’s what we give in the trenches every play,” says Florida guard Rich Starowesky. “Mentally, Emmitt gives us a big lift because of the second effort he always gives.”

At Smith’s current rate of production, the Florida media guide will need a separate section to list his accomplishments. Dating back to his sophomore year in high school, he has rushed for at least 100 yards in 30 consecutive starts. Hall, who planned to bring his prized recruit along slowly, has been forced to reconsider.

“He’s got great balance and great vision,” says Hall, “and Emmitt has earned his starting spot. Our running game is working very well right now.”

On Smith’s final scoring run against the Bulldogs, a 20-yard dash down the right sidelines, he raised his right hand in salute. The gesture seemed out of character for the self-effacing freshman.

“Earlier in the game, one of their defensive players hit me and said, ‘Welcome to the SEC,”’ said Smith. “I figured I owed him an answer.”