Stanford Running Back E.J. Smith Out for Season Ahead of Oregon Matchup

Stanford Head Coach David Shaw said Smith was "really coming into his own" before the unfortunate injury.

Author:
Graham Metzker
Publish date:
Sep 27, 2022 6:26 PM EDT

Stanford Football Head Coach David Shaw started out his Tuesday afternoon press conference by delivering some heart-wrenching news to the Cardinal faithful.

Starting running back E.J. Smith will miss the rest of the 2022 season with an undisclosed injury.

"It's injury-related, not gonna go into any detail," Shaw said. "I know it's really disappointing for him, disappointing for the whole team. I think he's a special young man, a special football player. And was just really coming into his own."

It's a huge blow to the Stanford offense, who was also without Smith in last weekend's 40-22 loss to No. 18 Washington. Smith appeared to pick up the injury against No. 10 USC two weeks ago, but that also went without confirmation from Shaw.

2022 was already looking like a landmark season for Smith, who is the son of the NFL's all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith. With Stanford's top two running backs of the 2021 season Nathaniel Peat and Austin Jones transferring out in the offseason, Smith took up the the top spot on Stanford's running back depth chart with ease.

On Stanford's first play of the season from scrimmage Smith took a simple run play, reversed the field and sprinted away for an 87-yard score. And through two games, Smith had the second-most rushing yards in the Pac-12 with 206 yards and four total scores.

"The future's bright," Shaw said. "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 gonna happen this year."

With Smith unavailable this week against Oregon, all eyes turn to Casey Filkins to fill the hole left in the Cardinal backfield. In his first game as RB1 against Washington, Filkins carried the ball 20 times for 100 yards. The game before, Filkins ran 16 times for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Oregon's run defense is ranked second in the Pac-12, allowing just 86.5 rushing yards per game, led by names like Brandon Dorlus, Sam Taimani, Keyon Ware Hudson, Jordon Riley and Casey Rogers.

Filkins is definitely capable as a lead rusher and the Cardinal are unlikely to switch from their offensive game plan that features a heavy dose of the run.

Filkins is originally from Lake Oswego, Oregon. The former three-star prospect was recruited and offered by Oregon before heading to Stanford, so this game may mean a bit more to Filkins.

Behind Filkins, junior running back Caleb Robinson has the most carries on the team.