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Living up to a legend’s name is no easy task, and no matter where EJ Smith goes on a football field, he’s looked at a bit differently than most.
That’s because the Texas A&M running back, who hopes to be drafted later this month, is the son of Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.
Smith worked primarily as a backup in college, but at the very least, he did get a workout with his dad’s former Dallas Cowboys earlier this month.
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Texas A&M Aggies running back EJ Smith runs with the ball during the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Dec. 20, 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
But there was a time in high school, the Hall of Famer said, that his son began to feel the pressure of living up to the likes of his father.
“He came to me one day, he asked the question, ‘How do I deal with all the pressure?’ And I was wondering the type of pressure he was under. He said, ‘Just the pressure of living up to what everybody expects and everything else,'” Smith recalled in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
“And I broke it down pretty simply. I just asked the one fundamental question. I said, ‘What is everyone saying?’ ‘Everyone expected me to be this and everyone expected me to be that and do this and do that.’ I said, ‘What are your expectations? Are your expectations any different than what they want for you?’ And he said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Where’s the pressure?’
“Here’s the thing – you gotta run your race, and you gotta disregard what other people are saying. Because you have whatever ability you have, you have to be yourself. And you have to work at being yourself and work at what you need to do to hone your craft. Just go play the game. Put your blinders on. Run your race. You like the horses at the Kentucky Derby. And then when the blinders come off, you may look up one day and find yourself in the damn Super Bowl. You never know.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed hands the ball to running back EJ Smith during the first half against Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, on Sept. 14, 2024. (Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)
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“But stay the course, disregard all the noise out there ’cause it is noise. And they’re not playing. They’re trying to put their stuff on you and their expectations on you. But if their expectations are different than yours, it don’t matter. Just go meet every expectation that you’re trying to meet. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
Smith said he and EJ talk about “everything under the sun,” making it clear that his top role in life is being a father. That, along with other personal experiences, is why he joined Narcan’s “Ready to Rescue” initiative to stop overdoses during the current opioid epidemic.
Smith’s sister-in-law had a “couple of overdose episodes” while on pain medication for chemo for colon cancer treatment. Smith also noted that his former teammates have had issues with opioids, and friends have even lost children. Although the circumstances are unfortunate, the recent partnership is a natural fit for Smith.
“I think that’s what makes it such a natural way to talk about it. There’s dealing with someone that you lost, or even growing up and seeing cousins, getting hooked on hardcore drugs, and then seeing them wean themselves off of it, going through that whole entire process of not understanding that there’s mechanisms out there that people can go to get help,” Smith said, adding his concern for the “rampant” run of fentanyl.
“Anybody is subject to get caught up in something at any point in time anywhere, and not even realize it. And so when that happens, you want to make sure that the people that are closest to you or around you have access to something like the Narcan nasal spray.
Jan 30, 1994; Atlanta, GA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith (22) prior to facing the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XVIII at the Georgia Dome. (James D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Smith family, of course, is hoping they get good news during the draft. But Smith has one more piece of advice for his son on how to deal with the pressure of waiting for a call.
“I told him on draft day, go play golf, go hang out, don’t even look at the damn TV,” he said. “Let your agent call you and say, ‘Hey man, we got something.’ Don’t even worry about draft day.”
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