Prior to the start of the season, Minnesota’s sophomore running back Shannon Brooks seemed like the obvious choice to be the team’s starting running back. During his freshman year, Brooks averaged six yards per carry and broke several long runs. While Brook’s performance didn’t do much for Minnesota’s college football betting lines, the fact that he liked trucking defenders made him an immediate fan favorite.
At the end of last season, Brooks had 709 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, and would have had more if he didn’t ride the bench for the first three games of the season. After the brilliant performance he gave last season, it is difficult to find fault with the media and fans for proclaiming Brooks was the next great Gophers running back.
In an interesting twist, Brooks, who was named the starter entering this season, was forced to miss the first two games of the year because of a broken foot, opening the door for Rodney Smith to shine.
Smith was the team’s starting running back as a redshirt freshman last year, and rushed for 363 yards and a touchdown in the first four games of the season. Smith faded down the stretch because of an ankle injury that slowed him down and the emergence of Brooks. Smith would finish the season with 670 yards and three touchdowns.
After the season, Gophers fans and coaches felt Brooks was the best running back on the team because of his ability to break long runs, especially when Smith’s longest run of the year was 37 yards. However, Smith took advantage of the opportunity presented to him, when the team announced Brooks would miss the first two games of the season with an injury, and hasn’t looked back since.
Smith did more than fill-in during Brooks’ absence, and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry this season. Smith has also rushed for 701 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games, proving that he is capable of handling the load full-time.
In addition to his running, Smith is also fourth on the team in receiving, with 110 yards on 11 receptions.
When Brooks returned to the lineup against Colorado State, it was assumed that he would regain his starting position, but Smith isn’t going to let that happen without putting up a fight.
Even though the coaches have pretty much evened their carries, Smith has been the better of the two so far in all but one of the five games they have played since Brooks returned.
With at least five more games remaining this season, Smith only needs 300 yards to join former Gopher running back Laurence Maroney as the only sophomores in school history to surpass the 1,000 yard mark since 2004.
Interestingly, of all the running backs that have come through Minnesota, only four of them rushed for more than 1,000 yards in their sophomore year. Since he has been at Minnesota, the only thing Smith hasn’t done is rush for 200 yards or more, which is something he likely would have accomplished if he wasn’t splitting carries with another runner.
Not to take anything away from Brooks, who has been a great player for the Gophers, after seven games this season, Smith looks like the best running back the Gophers have.