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EJ Smith, son of Hall of Famer Emmitt, works out for Dallas Cowboys

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko04/06/26nickkosko59

EJ Smith, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, worked out for the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. Dallas held their invite-only workout for local college players.

EJ Smith played for Texas A&M after initially playing for Stanford in college. As a two-year grad player for the Aggies, Smith compiled 412 yards on 98 carries, four touchdowns, 12 catches and 84 yards. Over the course of his college career, Smith had 207 carries for 969 yards, nine touchdowns, 4.7 yards per carry, 71 catches, 470 yards and one touchdown reception.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer noted the history with the Smiths, since Emmitt is a Cowboy legend himself. It was basically a family affair at the local workout.

“Very cool,” Schottenheimer said, via ESPN. “You know me, man, I’m family. I’m all family. And you watch his film and he was an incredible short-yardage runner, powerful. But, yeah, just watching him move, seeing him in person, the type of young man he is, it’s cool.”

As a member of the Class of 2020, EJ Smith was a four-star recruit out of Dallas (Texas) Jesuit, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 19 overall prospect in the state, the No. 15 running back in the class and the No. 131 overall prospect in the class.

EJ Smith was slowed by a season-ending injury in 2022 while at Stanford. But his former head coach, David Shaw, had a glowing review of the running back.

“I think he’s a special young man, a special football player and was just really coming into his own,” Shaw said at the time of the injury. “The future’s bright. This is something that needs to be taken care of now and I still expect him to be the special football player that we envision, that he envisions, sooner or later. It’s just not going to happen this year.”

EJ Smith’s father Emmitt played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1990-2002 before finishing his career with the Arizona Cardinals (2003-04). Emmitt Smith holds the NFL records for career carries (4,409), career yards (18,355), career touchdowns (164) and first down runs (1,028). He also had 11 straight years of 1,000 rushing yards or more and won three Super Bowls.