Born and raised in Euclid, Ohio, a suburb northeast of Cleveland, Smith became the first player to win Ohio's Mr. Football Award twice. junior at Euclid High School, he gained 1,564 yards on 177 rushes and averaged 31 yards on 10 punt returns. senior season in 1989, he gained 2,042 yards on 203 carries and scored 31 touchdowns and was awarded the Bobby Dodd National Back of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. During his Panthers' career, he rushed for a total of 5,038 yards on 548 carries with 67 touchdowns.
College
Smith narrowed his college choices to Miami, USC, UCLA, and Ohio State. In his two seasons with the Buckeyes Smith ran for a total of 1,945 yards, leading the team both years. freshman in 1990, he had a personal-best per game), and rushed for Smith sat out the 1991 football season, switching to a track and field scholarship, and posted a personal-best time of 10.24 seconds in the for He seriously considered transferring to either USC or Stanford in the Pac-10 to play football; Ohio State coach John Cooper had kept the door open for Smith to return to the Buckeyes' football team, and he
NFL
Smith was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft, the 21st overall pick. Although he suffered from a number of ailments in his first few seasons, he finally broke through in 1997 with 1,266 yards rushing. Smith's finest year as a pro came in 2000 at age 28, leading the NFC in rushing with 1,521 yards; despite being at the peak of his career, he retired after the season. In eight NFL seasons, Smith rushed for 6,818 yards and 32 touchdowns, along with 178 receptions for 1,292 yards and 6 touchdowns, and only nine fumbles. He also returned 1 punt for 4 yards and 19 kickoffs for a total of 460 yards. Smith wore number 20 as a rookie in 1993, but switched to number 26 when it became available in 1994 and wore it until his retirement.
Records
NFL
Second all-time Minnesota Vikings record for career rushing yards. Passed by Adrian Peterson on September 9, 2012. The previous record was 5,887; which was set in 1979 by Chuck Foreman.
Holds the all-time NFL record for average yards per touchdown run at 27.2
After retirement
Smith retired after only eight seasons in the NFL. He walked away from the game to pursue a career in medicine as well as to avoid any serious injuries. He has maintained a mostly private life since his retirement. He has mainly appeared as a guest on the ESPNnews programOutside the Lines, as well as a college football analyst on various ESPN programs alongside regulars Rece Davis, Mark May, and Lou Holtz. Smith also works on the NFL Network as an analyst and has appeared on The Score to discuss the NFL. In May 2016, Smith left ESPN to work for Fox Sports and is currently a College Football analyst on Fox Sports & The Big Ten Network. Smith founded the Robert Smith Foundation, a charity whose goal is to "provide financial and moral support for Children's hospitals and cancer research." Smith made a cameo appearance in the TV seriesMystery Science Theater 3000. He was in Season 8 Episode 3 The Mole People. He played a scantily clad, mute "hunk" given to Pearl as a present by her minions. 2004 saw publication of Smith's book The Rest of the Iceberg: An Insider's View on the World of Sport and Celebrity. In it he discussed his background, his time at Ohio State and the NFL, and why he retired. He also analyzed the obsession placed on sports stars by the public. Smith is an agnostic. Smith is one of the amateur astronomers featured in science writer Timothy Ferris's 2007 PBS program, Seeing in the Dark, based on his 2002 book of the same name. On November 1, 2013, Smith openly admitted to fighting alcoholism during his playing career on ESPN during an interview on SportsCenter. He explained he sought counseling and has been sober since the birth of his son, and that his family is his daily motivation to stay sober. He also appeared on ESPN's First Take with Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless talking about his alcoholism. Smith lives in Texas.
