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SALT LAKE CITY — The NFL’s all-time leading rusher and three-time Super Bowl champion Emmitt Smith will speak at a Utah tech conference in February.
“Known for his durability, excellent vision, extraordinary leg strength and tenacious running ability, Smith was one of the most electrifying players to ever play football,” reads a statement from RootsTech — the world's largest family history event — where Smith will speak on Feb. 29.
The running back first played for the University of Florida but was selected by the Dallas Cowboys during the first round of the 1990 NFL draft.
“He wasted no time in proving he was going to be a huge part of the team’s future,” the Pro Football Hall of Fame claims.
That first year, Smith rushed for 937 yards, scored 11 touchdowns and earned Offensive Rookie of the Year — the first of eight Pro Bowl awards. He also won four rushing crowns during a five-year span and lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns three times.
Smith hit a career high in 1995, however, when he rushed for 1,773 yards, rushing 25 touchdowns and 62 receptions. He eventually became the first player in NFL history to rush more than 1,000 yards in over 11 consecutive seasons.
In 1993, Smith was named the NFL’s MVP and is still the only running back to ever win the NFL MVP award, the NFL rushing crown, a Super Bowl championship and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award in the same season.
Smith’s “impact on the team helped nurture the Cowboys back to the top of the NFL,” and the team won consecutive Super Bowls over the Buffalo Bills in 1993 and 1994, then again in 1996 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to the Hall of Fame.
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‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ star Patricia Heaton said she was surprised how much she liked her kids when she had them, during her keynote at RootsTech in Salt Lake City — the world's largest family history event.It was in 2002 that Smith surpassed Chicago Bears’ running back Walter Payton as the NFL’s all-time rushing leader. Smith ended his career with a total of 18,355 rushing yards and an NFL record of 164 rushing touchdowns.
The Cowboys released Smith in 2002, and he signed with the Arizona Cardinals for a couple more seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
"The stories he can tell, both from his career and from his knowledge of his own family history, will be a perfect fit for the RootsTech stage, and we’re so excited that you’ll get to hear from him!” the organization's statement reads.
The conference will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City Feb. 26-29. Tickets currently cost $189.
