In the off-season, the team changed its offense again, so the players had to learn yet another entirely new system. At first, Emmitt Smith was concerned. He was afraid he wouldn’t get to carry the ball very much.
But the new offensive coordinator, Whitey Jordan, loved running the football. He had once coached running back Eric Dickerson, who had gone on to become a star in the NFL. Jordan appreciated Emmitt Smith and made sure the Gators kept putting the ball into his hands.
He took full advantage of the opportunity. Although the Gators narrowly lost to Mississippi in their season opener, Emmitt gained 117 yards and scored twice. Then he gained more than 100 yards in the next two games, both victories, including 182 yards against Memphis State.
After the Memphis State game, Emmitt Smith met with his parents. He expected them to be happy with his performance. Instead, his father greeted him with a stern look.
After scoring one of his touchdowns, Emmitt had “celebrated” in the end zone by doing a little dance. He had never done so before, but his teammates had encouraged him to do something to quiet Memphis State’s raucous fans. Emmitt. Smith Jr., however, had not enjoyed the spectacle.
“You don’t need to be doing that type of thing,” he admonished his son. “You’ve been in the end zone hundreds of times. Why start acting like you’ve never seen one before?”
Emmitt decided that his father was right. He abandoned the dance and eventually decided to celebrate his touchdowns in a unique and understated way. If you watch Emmitt Smith score a touchdown today, all he does is remove his helmet. It is as if he is saying, “Don’t you recognize me? Here I am again.”
The Gators played LSU the following week. It was a tough and punishing game. Emmitt banged out 117 yards on the ground, and the Gators won on a last-second field goal, 16–13. Finally, he thought, we’re on our way.
One day later, the team was shocked to learn that Coach Galen Hall had resigned. The university’s basketball program was already under investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations, and that investigation had just been expanded to include the football program. Hall had apparently decided to resign rather than fight. He was replaced by assistant Gary Darnell.
The charges rocked the football program, but the Gators kept winning. A few weeks later, though, several players, including both the starting and second-string quarterbacks, were suspended from the team.
It was up to Emmitt Smith to keep the team going. He responded brilliantly.
After rushing for 202 yards to help defeat Vanderbilt (the most yards he had gained in a game since facing Alabama in his freshman season), he set a new career record against New Mexico State.
Forced to start a freshman at quarterback, the Gators had to run on almost every play. Time after time, the ball was put in Emmitt’s hands.
He ran every way he knew how—blasting over defenders, running around them, and faking them out of their shoes. When the game ended, Florida had a hard-earned 27–21 victory, and Emmitt Smith had a new Florida rushing record—316 yards!
But after defeating Kentucky one week later (with Emmitt adding another 126 yards to his season total),-the Gators ran out of steam. For the third year in a row, they lost to Auburn, Georgia, and Florida State, finishing the regular season a disappointing 7 –4.
The team still received a bowl bid, this time to the Freedom Bowl, in Anaheim, California, to face the University of Washington. But the game wasn’t even close. Washington held Emmitt to less than 100 yards rushing and blew out the Gators, 34–7.
Emmitt Smith still finished the year with 1,599 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Entering his senior year, he would be the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
But Emmitt Smith had to make a decision. In April 1990, for the first time ever, college juniors would be eligible for the NFL draft. If he wanted to, he could go pro.
Just after the Freedom Bowl, the University of Florida decided to clean up the football program. Afraid of being sanctioned by the NCAA again, the university fired the entire football coaching staff and hired Steve Spurrier to be the Gators’ new head coach.
As the Florida quarterback in 1966, Spurrier had won the Heisman Trophy. He had since earned a reputation as a fine coach who was particularly adept at developing a potent passing offense.
That troubled Emmitt. If Florida decided to build for the future and go with a passing game, he was afraid he’d be lost in the shuffle.
Still, he wasn’t certain he was ready to leave school. He enjoyed college life and knew his parents wanted him to graduate. Emmitt Smith decided to meet with Spurrier and discuss the future.
The new coach neither asked him to leave nor tried to convince him to stay. Coach Spurrier appeared impatient and just wanted to know whether Emmitt had made up his mind or not. He made no attempt to convince Emmitt Smith to stay in school for his senior year.
The meeting left Emmitt a little confused. He drove home almost three hundred miles to Pensacola and mulled over his options. Then he sat down with his parents and explained the situation.
He was surprised to learn that they understood his frustration. They told him that if he decided the time was right to turn professional, it was okay with them.
Then Emmitt Smith made a promise.
“I will get my college degree,” he told them. “I promise that after I turn pro, I won’t build a house until I get my college diploma.”
Emmitt’s mother just nodded. She didn’t doubt her son, but she probably didn’t realize the number of athletes who make similar promises, only to conveniently forget them once they become wealthy.
Then he drove back to Gainesville. On January 31, 1990, Emmitt Smith announced that he would enter the NFL draft and leave school after the spring semester. He was happy with his decision, but it also filled him with anxiety.
Because of the new rule allowing underclassmen to declare for the draft, there was more talent available to be drafted than ever before. In any other year, Emmitt Smith would have been a certain first-round pick. But in 1990, it wasn’t clear precisely when he would be drafted or by whom.
Just as some observers had questioned his ability when he left high school, some now questioned whether he would make it in the NFL. At only five foot nine, he was smaller than most NFL running backs. Some observers believed he would wear down after being knocked around by the huge linemen in the NFL.
Others still questioned his speed. Many players faster than Emmitt Smith had tried to make it professionally and had failed. Many thought it was risky to use a first-round draft pick on him.
But he had one factor in his favor. Despite the overall depth of the draft, it was abnormally weak at running back. Emmitt Smith and Blair Thomas of Penn State were clearly the two best runners available.
On the day of the draft, Emmitt and his family gathered at a friend’s beach house to watch the draft on television.
Illinois quarterback Jeff George was selected first by the Indianapolis Colts. Then Blair Thomas was picked by the New York Jets. All right, thought Emmitt, the next team that needs a running back will surely pick me.
Team after team made their picks. Most selected defensive players or offensive linemen. The first round was more than half over and he still hadn’t been picked. He was so nervous that he had to leave the room and go outside.
Then Emmitt heard his mother calling him. Someone wanted to speak with him on the telephone.
It was the player personnel director of the Dallas Cowboys, Bob Ackles. “How would you like to be a Cowboy?” he asked.
Emmitt Smith’s eyes turned huge, and a big grin broke out on his face. “I’d love it,” he said. He couldn’t believe that his favorite team was interested in drafting him. Ackles told him to stay by the phone and hung up.
Sixteen players had been selected so far. The Cowboys had the twenty-first pick in the draft. They had planned on picking a defensive player, but when they realized that Emmitt Smith was still available, they traded up for the seventeenth pick to make sure they could get him.
Then the phone rang again. This time it was Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson.
“Emmitt,” he said, “how’d you like to wear a star on your helmet?”
“I’d love it,” answered Emmitt.
Johnson told Emmitt that he was about to be drafted. Emmitt Smith and his family then watched on television as the Cowboys made their announcement.
The Gator was now a Cowboy.