Robert Smith on Playing for "THE" Ohio State Buckeyes, NFL Career with Minnesota Vikings, and his Top 10 Running Backs of All Time

In The Front Row with Mike Vaccaro

Robert Smith grew up just outside of Cleveland in Euclid, OH. He excelled in track and carried that speed over to football rushing for more than 5000 yards in his high school career. After he narrowed his college destination to four schools, Smith chose Ohio State. He played football for the Buckeyes as a freshman, ran track at OSU as a sophomore and returned to football his junior season. Despite playing just two years of football, Smith was drafted in 1993 by the Minnesota with the 21st pick of the first round by head coach Dennis Green. Smith spent 8 years with the Vikings with a breakout season in 1997 and his best year in 2000 when he led the NFC in rushing with 1521 yards. Even though he made the Pro Bowl that season, Smith retired thinking he would pursue a career in medicine. Instead of being a doctor, Smith became an author and broadcaster (he's been with Fox Sports since 2016). Smith shares his journey including his love for physics and astronomy, once teaching a physics class in high school. He also tells us about the quarterbacks and coaches who were part of his Vikings teams, where he stands in the history of the Vikings organization and why it was easy to walk away from the NFL. We also hear about his battle with alcoholism which he went public with in 2013. Plus, he tells us about his new venture based on health and well-being called Fan Huddle (https://www.fanhuddle.live/) and he breaks down his list of the Top 10 running backs of all-time.