Tag: E.J. Smith

Stanford statistical leaders through 11 games

The Irish can’t lose to this team, right?

Stanford is trying to salvage something out of its season. Even its win over Coach Prime and Colorado has become lessened by the fact that Buffaloes turned out not to be much better than the Cardinal. A victory over Notre Dame would by far be the signature of their season. That won’t be easy though.

There are a few talented players on the Cardinal, but they only can do so much to make up for their shortcomings. For instance, the offense lives off the pass to the point where the quarterbacks actually are the top rushers. For our purposes though, we’re discounting them in that category for this listicle. That alone should speak volumes about the Cardinal.

It’s no surprise that a team with this many shortcomings has dragged the Irish to the dying Pac-12 Network for its final live football game. If it somehow pulls off the upset, here are the players most likely to factor in:

Emmitt Smith’s son has huge game as Stanford rolls in opener

Emmitt Smith’s son E.J. had a huge game for Stanford in a romp over Colgate

Sometimes West Coast Bias can work against a player getting proper notice.

A perfect example is what happened in Stanford’s 41-10 victory over Colgate Saturday night. Junior running back E.J. Smith took off on an 87-yard touchdown run on the Cardinal’s first play of the game.

The son of all-time leading NFL rusher Emmitt Smith didn’t stop there. The 6-foot, 210-pounder from Dallas scored another touchdown and finished the romp with 118 yards on 11 carries and 5 receptions for 37 more yards.

He wears the No. 22 for the Cardinal that his dad made famous as a Dallas Cowboy and Arizona, um, Cardinal.

E.J. Smith nearly bettered his first two seasons in Palo Alto in one game. He rushed for 133 yards in 2021 and had 18 receptions for 81 total yards as a freshman and sophomore combined.

E.J’s dad holds the NFL rushing mark with 18,355 yards for Dallas and Arizona.

 

WATCH: Son of Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith breaks off 87-yard TD run for Stanford

E.J. Smith is expected to be one of the top running backs in the nation in 2022; he wasted no time in living up to that billing Saturday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

For a generation of fans, watching No. 22 take a seemingly futile up-the-gut run, bounce it to the outside, and suddenly streak down the field on a long touchdown score became a commonplace sight that helped define the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s.

History is repeating itself. Only now it’s happening in Palo Alto, California.

E.J. Smith, the 20-year-old son of Cowboys legend and NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, is beginning his junior year at Stanford. After seeing almost no playing time as a freshman and only sparse backup duty as a sophomore, Smith is finally the starting ball carrier this fall in the Cardinal backfield.

And on the team’s very first offensive play of the 2022 season, Smith bore a striking resemblance to his Hall of Fame father.

Right down to the single raised finger as he crossed the goal line, that 87-yard scoring run is pure Emmitt Smith.

E.J. (Emmitt James IV)- who was born in Dallas and attended the local Jesuit College Prep for high school- finished Stanford’s 41-10 win over Colgate on Saturday with 11 carries, 118 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. He added five receptions for 37 yards, and even logged a 13-yard kick return.

The 6-foot, 210-pounder was named a breakout candidate for this college football season by Pro Football Focus and is on the Doak Walker Award watchlist. Stanford head coach David Shaw has called Smith “the total package” and predicted, “Over the next two years, he’ll be one of the best backs in America.”

Sounds a lot like Dear Old Dad.

He’s off to quite a start so far.

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