Emmitt Smith gives advice to NFL hopeful son who once admitted to feeling pressure of living up to family name

Living up to a legend's sanction is nary casual task, and nary substance wherever EJ Smith goes connected a shot field, he's looked astatine a spot otherwise than most.

That's due to the fact that the Texas A&M moving back, who hopes to beryllium drafted aboriginal this month, is the lad of Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time starring rusher.

Smith worked chiefly arsenic a backup successful college, but astatine the precise least, helium did get a workout with his dad's erstwhile Dallas Cowboys earlier this month.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Texas A&M Aggies moving backmost EJ Smith runs with the shot during the crippled against the Miami Hurricanes astatine Kyle Field successful College Station, Texas, connected Dec. 20, 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

But determination was a clip successful precocious school, the Hall of Famer said, that his lad began to consciousness the unit of surviving up to the likes of his father.

"He came to maine 1 day, helium asked the question, 'How bash I woody with each the pressure?' And I was wondering the benignant of unit helium was under. He said, 'Just the unit of surviving up to what everybody expects and everything else,'" Smith recalled successful a caller interrogation with Fox News Digital.

"And I broke it down beauteous simply. I conscionable asked the 1 cardinal question. I said, 'What is everyone saying?' 'Everyone expected maine to beryllium this and everyone expected maine to beryllium that and bash this and bash that.' I said, 'What are your expectations? Are your expectations immoderate antithetic than what they privation for you?' And helium said, 'No.' I said, 'Where's the pressure?'

"Here's the happening - you gotta tally your race, and you gotta disregard what different radical are saying. Because you person immoderate quality you have, you person to beryllium yourself. And you person to enactment astatine being yourself and enactment astatine what you request to bash to hone your craft. Just spell play the game. Put your blinders on. Run your race. You similar the horses astatine the Kentucky Derby. And past erstwhile the blinders travel off, you whitethorn look up 1 time and find yourself successful the damn Super Bowl. You ne'er know.

Texas A&M backmost Marcel Reed hands the shot to moving backmost EJ Smith during the archetypal fractional against Florida astatine Ben Hill Griffin Stadium successful Gainesville, Florida, connected Sept. 14, 2024. (Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)

STEELERS LEGEND JEROME BETTIS DIVES INTO AARON RODGERS WAITING GAME, TEAM'S NFL DRAFT NEEDS

"But enactment the course, disregard each the sound retired determination 'cause it is noise. And they're not playing. They're trying to enactment their worldly connected you and their expectations connected you. But if their expectations are antithetic than yours, it don't matter. Just spell conscionable each anticipation that you're trying to meet. Everything other doesn't matter."

Smith said helium and EJ speech astir "everything nether the sun," making it wide that his apical relation successful beingness is being a father. That, on with different idiosyncratic experiences, is wherefore helium joined Narcan's "Ready to Rescue" inaugural to halt overdoses during the existent opioid epidemic.

Smith's sister-in-law had a "couple of overdose episodes" portion connected symptom medicine for chemo for colon crab treatment. Smith besides noted that his erstwhile teammates person had issues with opioids, and friends person adjacent mislaid children. Although the circumstances are unfortunate, the caller concern is simply a earthy acceptable for Smith.

"I deliberation that's what makes it specified a earthy mode to speech astir it. There's dealing with idiosyncratic that you lost, oregon adjacent increasing up and seeing cousins, getting hooked connected hardcore drugs, and past seeing them wean themselves disconnected of it, going done that full full process of not knowing that there's mechanisms retired determination that radical tin spell to get help," Smith said, adding his interest for the "rampant" tally of fentanyl.

"Anybody is taxable to get caught up successful thing astatine immoderate constituent successful clip anywhere, and not adjacent recognize it. And truthful erstwhile that happens, you privation to marque definite that the radical that are closest to you oregon astir you person entree to thing similar the Narcan nasal spray.

Jan 30, 1994; Atlanta, GA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys moving backmost Emmitt Smith (22) anterior to facing the Buffalo Bills successful Super Bowl XVIII astatine the Georgia Dome. (James D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Smith family, of course, is hoping they get bully quality during the draft. But Smith has 1 much portion of proposal for his lad connected however to woody with the unit of waiting for a call.

"I told him connected draught day, spell play golf, spell bent out, don't adjacent look astatine the damn TV," helium said. "Let your cause telephone you and say, 'Hey man, we got something.' Don't adjacent interest astir draught day."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter