Robert Smith

It was always kind of a badge of honor to play the position because it is a very physical position.

And there are times when you have to block players that outweigh you by a large amount.

It's not for the faint of heart.

Only the quarterback has the ball in their hands more.

And so you have, I think, one of the greatest opportunities to impact the outcome of a game.

On every running play, 11 guys are trying to hit the same person, and that's the guy who has the ball.

It's the challenging part, but it's also the rewarding part.

that you were able to get by them.

I hold the NFL record for the longest average per touchdown run at more than 26 yards.

And I got to tell you, it's a feeling that I wish everybody could experience when you break into the open and you know, you're going to score a touchdown.

It's like when you're leaning back in a chair and,

and you almost tip and fall, and you get this rush of adrenaline.

It's like this sudden burst of excitement that I'm about to score a touchdown.

I tore my ACL my rookie season, but in that injury, I also broke the bottom of my femur.

and did some damage to the articular cartilage, which is the smooth cartilage that's on the tip of the bone.

And I needed to have a microfracture.

It's a procedure where they tap on the exposed surface of the bone.

And then I needed to have that again after my last season in the league.

So there I was a couple of months shy of my 29th birthday.

It was the only season I didn't miss any games.