Freedom Bowl’s Star May Lack Time to Glow

University of Florida running back Emmitt Smith, the “marquee name” that Freedom Bowl officials hope will draw fans to the Dec. 30 game at Anaheim Stadium, said Wednesday he doesn’t expect to play a lot against the University of Washington, adding an ironic twist to an already strange saga.

“I don’t think I’m going to get that much playing time,” said Smith, a junior who has averaged 126.7 yards a game in his career--second in Southeastern Conference history only to Herschel Walker’s 159.4 average--and finished seventh in voting for the Heisman Trophy. “Willie McClendon and Dexter McNabb are going to play a lot. . . . It’s not because I’m hurt. This game is going to involve a whole lot of guys on the team (as a reward) for what we did all season.”

The sixth Freedom Bowl originally was to match Washington against Indiana University and NCAA rushing leader Anthony Thompson. When Indiana lost its season finale and became ineligible for postseason play because of its sub-.500 record, Plan B was put into effect and Florida was invited to face Washington.

“We had decided that we wanted a marquee name--we’re a very star-rated society where we live--(such as) Anthony Thompson of Indiana. We’re happy that we still have a marquee running back in Emmitt Smith,” Tom Starr, executive director of the Freedom Bowl, said after Florida replaced Indiana. “Smith and Thompson are both All-American backs, so we’re happy to have one of them. We wanted to get a star.”

But bowl officials might not get to see a lot of the star they got. Out of respect for “the physical nature of Washington’s defense,” Gary Darnell, Florida’s interim coach, said he plans to employ a rotation at tailback and that could reduce the number of Smith’s rushing attempts.

Smith, who is contemplating skipping his senior year in order to turn professional, rushed for 1,599 yards in 284 carries, an average of nearly 26 carries a game. McClendon was second on the team with 510 yards in 97 attempts and McNabb, who played fullback and tailback, was third with 100 yards in 17 carries. Both McClendon and McNabb are sophomores.

“We will have to play more tailbacks to keep a fresh one in the game,” said Darnell, who replaced Galen Hall as coach five games into the season when Hall resigned after admitting he violated NCAA rules by making payments to a player and two assistant coaches. “This is what we normally do in our conference against teams like Auburn and Georgia. We want Emmitt Smith fresh in the fourth quarter.”

The Gators rotated two or three players at tailback early in the season, which afforded Smith 20 to 22 carries per game. His season-low was 20 carries against Louisiana Tech.

Starr said he isn’t dismayed at the possibility of seeing less of his marquee man.

“I’m sure he’ll see quality time because this is a very important game for Florida,” Starr said. “I’m sure Gary Darnell is not going to take this game lightly.”