CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An old political ad questioned the readiness of a presidential candidate to deal with an international crisis at 3 a.m.
Turns out college football coaches also need to be ready to lead in the middle of the night.
Gophers defensive end Anthony Smith told the Pioneer Press how he was dealing with a personal issue, and that he had phoned head coach P.J. Fleck in the wee hours. Fleck answered the call and helped a crying Smith through his difficult matter, details of which he wanted to keep private.
“That’s so important to me,” Smith said about a relationship that has helped keep the coveted pass rusher in maroon and gold.
The redshirt sophomore’s confidence is now surging, and his play was on the upswing in the second half of the 2024 season. Smith has tallied team-highs in sacks (five) and tackles for lost yards (9½). The 6-foot-6, 285-pound lineman had four sacks in the final six regular-season games, perhaps the harbinger of a big 2025.
With Jah Joyner opting out for the NFL draft, Smith is expected to start at end in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Virginia Tech on Friday evening. He isn’t coy about where he sees his game going in the next 16 months.
“Next year is all about making those plays and really being a first-rounder,” he said, referring to the 2026 NFL Draft. “That’s my goal at the end of the day, being in the green room and my name being called, literally, the first day.”
The Gophers’ upset win over a ranked Southern Cal team in October was a season highlight, with its dramatic last-second interception from Koi Perich and thousands of fans storming the field. But Smith was personally dissatisfied with his outing.
He made his first career collegiate start against USC and did so at 3-technique tackle, not his primary spot at end. Those mitigating factors didn’t really help him feel better about his performance at Huntington Bank Stadium.
“I just didn’t have a game that I wanted to have,” he said. “I set (an) expectation and I didn’t meet it.”
Gophers defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere said he saw a shift in Smith after the Trojans game. The next week against UCLA, Smith had 2½ tackles for lost yards against UCLA, including a sack.
“You watch him just start to crave perfection, and the great ones always do,” DeLattiboudere said. “… I’ll tell my wife he’s like a big pit bull puppy. But when he starts growling at you, Hell is coming with it.”
Coming out of high school, the former four-star recruit from Shippensburg, Pa., turned down Penn State to come to Minnesota, and it’s believed the Nittany Lions have not lost interest. Yet Smith remains a Gopher.
Back when Smith went on his recruiting visit to Minneapolis, he wanted to commit to the U on the spot and not see any other campus, including Happy Valley. His mother Heather Sharar said he was being “extremely stubborn,” and she insisted he take his time and see what else was out there.
A Zoom meeting was set up to discuss the Gophers’ scholarship offer. It included Fleck and other members of the coaching staff, plus about 15 members of Sharar’s family.
“Coach Fleck was like, ‘I don’t think I ever did a zoom call with this many family members,’ ” Sharar recalled with a laugh.
Smith never did take those other visits and committed to Minnesota. But his college transition had challenges.
“He’s done really well, starting to open up and talk more about his feelings, which is tough for a macho guy,” Sharar said. “He’s just very more mature and handling his feelings and talking about his feelings when things feel a little bit more stressful.”
Smith said his mother is also his best friend and he will tell her what he needs in their long-distance phone conversations. Sometimes he is looking for advice; other times he just wants her to listen.
Sharar saw Smith’s extreme competitiveness come out in things such as chocolate milk chugging contests with boyhood friends. But she also needed to inject him with confidence in youth football games, convincing him that the pads he was wearing would protect him.
Smith now says his enormous confidence is sourced from his mother.
Minnesota Gophers defensive lineman Anthony Smith (0) during warmup before the start of a NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
DeLattiboudere, who didn’t recruit Smith to Minnesota, and his wife Shelby have worked to form a bond with the prized end.
“Whenever you have very talented, big human beings on the line, it’s going to be hard to keep them all, but you keep them through love and you keep them through connection,” DeLattiboudere said. “My wife sends him pictures of thrifted clothes that she wants to buy. My wife’s real big into thrift stores; he’s real big in the thrift stores. It’s the connection.”
DeLattiboudere will also ask about Smith’s younger brother, Sean, a budding college prospect — although that might end up being for basketball. Anthony also was a talented basketball player.
While NIL funds are important to keep players such as Smith, Fleck said college football has still not become a lower-level professional league.
“They need guidance,” Fleck said. “They need to be able to call you at 3 a.m. if they have an issue. And I always want my door to be open. That’s why I do not have a secretary (outside his office). We do not have an assistant. I want them to call me and feel comfortable calling me at any point, at any time that they need that. That’s as a college football coach, that’s why you’re still in it: to help young people accomplish their dreams.”
Related Articles
Gophers football vs. Virginia Tech: Keys to game, how to watch, and who has the edge
Which positions will Gophers keep looking to add via NCAA transfer portal?
Inside look at quarterback Max Brosmer’s graduate-level preparation and play for Gophers
Yikes! Gophers’ stock-car experience in Charlotte includes spin-outs and engine fires
Gophers receiver T.J. McWilliams to enter NCAA transfer portal
Leave a Reply