Turmoil at Florida Troubles Tailback More Than Tacklers

Break a tackle? No problem. Glide to daylight for a crucial first down? Elementary for Emmitt Smith.

The only time the All-America tailback seems to flail is when he’s asked about the problems that have wracked the University of Florida’s athletic program this year and led to the resignation of football coach Galen Hall. Faced with those inquiries--and the inevitable followups about whether he will turn professional and skip his senior year--Smith labors to maintain his composure.

“It has been mentally draining as well as physically draining,” said Smith, whose 1,599 rushing yards was the NCAA’s third-highest total this year. “I’ve been hearing the same questions since the start of the season, and now that it’s over, everyone is hounding me again.

“We’re in a situation where we might hire a new head coach. It’s not like I’m going to leave because we have a new head coach. There are a lot of things I need to look at and evaluate. I need to sit with my family and discuss the pros and cons.”

That discussion has been postponed while Smith finishes final examinations and prepares for Saturday’s Freedom Bowl game at Anaheim Stadium against the University of Washington, a matchup of 7-4 teams. Expecting that the Gators’ offense could be slowed by the Huskies’ punishing defense, interim Coach Gary Darnell said he will rotate his tailbacks more frequently than usual, making it likely that Smith won’t match his average of 26 carries per game. That prospect might not thrill Freedom Bowl officials, who invited Florida chiefly because of Smith’s glittering credentials. But Smith remains undaunted.

“I don’t think I’m going to get that much playing time. Willie McClendon and Dexter McNab are going to play a lot,” said Smith, who was hotly recruited as a high school player in Pensacola, Fla. “It’s not because I’m hurt. The game is going to involve a lot of guys on the team (as a reward for) what we did all season. It’s not like I’m using the Freedom Bowl as my last game with the University of Florida and go out with a bang.”

At 5-foot-10 and 198 pounds, Smith has banged his way into the Southeastern Conference record books with three standout seasons. As a freshman in 1987, he accumulated 1,000 rushing yards in seven games, earlier than any freshman back ever reached that level and one game earlier than such luminaries as Herschel Walker and Tony Dorsett. His 1,341 yards was the third-highest total ever gained by a freshman, behind only Walker and Dorsett, and he joined Walker as the only freshmen ever to lead the SEC in rushing. His performance also gave him the Gators’ single-season rushing record and a ninth-place finish in Heisman Trophy balloting, the best by a freshman since Walker’s third-place finish in 1980.

A knee injury kept him out of two games his sophomore year and limited him to 988 yards, but he recovered in time to rush for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the All-American Bowl and earn most valuable player honors in Florida’s 14-10 victory over Illinois.

With no health problems to hinder him this season, he romped through opponents’ defenses for 100 yards or more nine times, including a 316-yard game against New Mexico Oct. 21 that was a school record--one of 58 he holds.

For his career, he is fifth on the all-time SEC rushing list with 3,928 yards, and his average of 126.7 rushing yards per game is second in SEC history only to Walker’s 159.4 average. He has rushed for 100 yards or more 23 times, a school record.

“I’m determined to be the guy who makes something happen,” he said. “That’s just the way I am. If I can do something, catch a pass, whatever, that’s what I want to do. I want to succeed at whatever I do.”

What can’t he do? He won’t set any land-speed records with breakaway dashes, but he gets the job done.

“Emmitt’s not a large player but he has great vision and balance,” Darnell said. “He sees things the way other people don’t see them. Jim Brown was like Emmitt in the way he uses his feet. He slides rather than moves. He’s good in heavy traffic, and he does have adequate speed when he has the open field.”

His teammates, who play against him daily in practice, agree his anticipation outweighs lack of blazing speed.

“He sees (plays) before they happen,” said inside linebacker Jerry Odom, also a junior. “He waits for blockers to make their blocks and, in that sense, he’s unbelievable. He’s really like no other back I’ve played against. You think you’ve got him hemmed in and he just dances, stutter steps, and though you think you’ve got a sure tackle, he makes you miss. And he’s got really good speed when he gets open.”

Smith’s decision about his future is open to guessing, although he offers tantalizing hints that he will be back.

“I always had the goal of winning the Heisman Trophy and the SEC title and maybe the national title,” Smith said. “That’s the main thing, that’s more important to me. Our team isn’t far away from winning the national title or the SEC championship. . . . I’ve yet to make my mind up. If I stay, it will be because I want to. If I leave, it will be because I want to.”

No matter his decision, he wants to end the season on a positive note. The Gators were 6-1 before losing three of their last four games, including a 24-17 loss to archrival Florida State in their season finale Dec. 2. They finished in a fourth-place tie in the SEC. “I wouldn’t say it’s been a roller coaster ride,” Smith said of the Gators’ season. “More like a semi-slow start to a bang and then a deep slump.”

A Freedom Bowl triumph would help negate that slump, in addition to launching Smith toward either a spectacular senior season or a powerful plunge into the pros.

“I thought it was very important for us to get a bowl bid and end the season 7-4,” he said. “If you look at this team, we’re better than that. The losses were close; it’s not like we’re a poor team. . . .

“We’re in this game more because of the accomplishments this team has done over the year (than because of his own achievements). We battled back through adversity and responded in a positive way. We proved the character of this team. The way we responded is probably one reason why we’re going to this bowl game.”

CAREER STATISTICS

RUSHING

SEASON ATTEMPTS YARDS AVERAGE TDS YDS/GAME 1989 284 1,599 5.6 14 145.4 1988 187 988 5.3 9 109.8 1987 229 1,341 5.9 13 121.9 TOTALS: 700 3,928 5.6 36 126.7

RECEIVING

SEASON RECEPTIONS YARDS AVERAGE TDS YDS/GAME 1989 21 207 9.9 1 18.8 1988 10 72 7.2 0 8.0 1987 25 184 5.6 0 16.7 TOTALS: 56 463 8.3 1 14.9