The Pittsburgh Maulers signed running back Rodney Smith on Friday.
Rodney Smith is five foot eleven and weighs 200 pounds. The 27-year-old from Jonesboro, Georgia, was recently with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2023 playing one preseason game against the B.C. Lions with seven carries for 27 yards, and one catch for four yards before he was released on June 4th. He was released by the Roughriders on July 25, 2023.
Before Saskatchewan, Smith was on the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans practice squads in 2021. Rodney Smith signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
He played two seasons in Carolina (2020-21) with 41 carries for 156 yards, one touchdown, and 14 catches for 107 yards in nine games. Afterward, he returned to the Panthers practice squad before being released.
Collegiately, Smith played five seasons at the University of Minnesota (2015-19) with 879 carries for 4,122 yards, 29 touchdowns, 65 catches for 521 yards, 30 kick returns for 798 yards, and two touchdowns in 52 games for the Golden Gophers.
His 879 carries are the third most in school history, and his 4,122 rushing yards are ranked second all-time in school history. Furthermore, his 5,441 all-purpose yards rank first in school history. In addition, he is a two-time Bruce Smith Award for Outstanding Player of the Year (2016, 2019), 2016 Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP, All-Big Ten Third Team in 2016, and All-Big Ten Second Team in 2019.
