As soon as the Outback Bowl ended Jan. 1, Rodney Smith went back to work.
The former Gophers running back ended his six-year college career as the program’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards. And despite grinding to those 5,441 yards, he didn’t take a break or rest in the offseason. He had NFL dreams to pursue.
But that hasn’t been a straightforward process.
First, he “got a little banged up” in that bowl game, meaning he couldn’t compete in front of scouts at the East-West Shrine Bowl on Jan. 23. So he instead turned his focus to the NFL scouting combine at the end of February.