Gophers' Rodney Smith chasing NFL draft dream despite frustrating few months

Rodney Smith played his last game as a Gopher on Jan. 1 in the Outback Bowl. In his senior season he rushed for 1,163 yards.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…