Anthony Smith’s Dominant Bowl Performance Caps Breakout Season-and Signals Big Things Ahead for Minnesota
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Minnesota walked off the field Friday night with its ninth straight bowl win, a gritty overtime victory over New Mexico that extended one of the best postseason streaks in college football. But as big as that win was, what came after might’ve been even bigger.
Defensive end Anthony Smith, the game’s MVP and a wrecking ball all night long, announced he’s turning down the NFL-for now-and returning to Minnesota for his final year of eligibility. That’s not just a win for the Gophers. That’s a statement.
Smith didn’t just show up Friday night-he took over. Four tackles for loss, the most ever by a Gopher in a bowl game.
Two sacks, tying the school’s bowl record. And two key pass deflections at the line of scrimmage that stalled New Mexico drives and shifted momentum.
His fingerprints were all over this win.
At 6-foot-6, Smith’s physical presence is obvious, but it’s the way he’s refined his game that’s made him one of the most disruptive forces in the Big Ten. He wrapped up the season with 12.5 sacks-making him the first Minnesota player to hit double digits in that category since Willie VanDeSteeg back in 2009.
With 19.5 sacks in his career, he’s already sixth all-time in program history. If he repeats this level of production next fall, he’ll be chasing down Karon Riley’s all-time mark of 29.0.
And it’s not just sacks. Smith’s 17.5 tackles for loss this season rank sixth in Minnesota’s single-season history.
His career total? 31, putting him eighth all-time.
That’s elite company-and he’s still got one more year to climb the ladder.
But for Smith, the decision to return wasn’t just about stats or records. It was about unfinished business.
“I talked pregame to C.J. [Robbins] about it,” Smith said after the game.
“I wrote down what my goals were. I told C.J.
I was going to get MVP and announce to everybody that I was going to come back.”
Mission accomplished.
“I made my decision pretty early in December,” he continued. “I definitely knew that I wanted to come back.
I knew how good our team is going to be next year for 2026. I wouldn’t want to miss that for the world, because I felt we left a little bit of meat on the bone this year.
And I’m ready to go get after it next year.”
That kind of mindset is exactly what head coach P.J. Fleck wants from his leaders-and Smith has become one of the most important voices in the locker room.
“When you watch Anthony work and see what type of person he is, Anthony is a really, really good person with a huge heart,” Fleck said. “He’s serving and giving.
He cares about people. Just what a great teammate.
It’s no surprise that he had the game he had.”
Fleck didn’t hold back in praising Smith’s work ethic and coachability-two traits that are harder to find than you might think, especially in today’s college football landscape.
“One thing I’ll tell you about Anthony is he’s really coachable,” Fleck said. “It’s really hard with elite players to coach them every single day.
Our job is not to make them just comfortable. Our job is to get them to be uncomfortable.
Most human beings don’t want to be uncomfortable, especially really good football players. It’s hard to get guys to be uncomfortable.
He has no problem doing it. You can sit him down and show him clips of what he needs to improve, and he’s transparent and honest with himself.
He comes to work every single day to get better. That’s rare.”
Smith will be working with a new position coach next season, as C.J. Robbins takes over the full defensive line after previously coaching rush ends. And Smith is already embracing the shift.
“They’re just two different coaching styles,” Smith said. “Coach Dott did an amazing job.
He knew the schemes, always knew what was going on in the back end and with the offense. C.J.’s a little more personable, and he can see tips a little more.
He gives us a little more freedom-if you see something, take your shot. But you’ve got to give him a reason.
Learning from C.J. has been fun so far.”
Next season, Smith will be the anchor of a defensive line that’s about to look a lot different. Several veterans are graduating, and the room will be filled with younger, unproven talent. But Smith isn’t just ready for that leadership role-he’s already living it.
He’s mentoring the next wave, passing down the knowledge that’s made him one of the most feared defenders in the Big Ten. And with his return, Minnesota doesn’t just get back a game-wrecker-they get back a tone-setter.
The Gophers are building something, and Anthony Smith is all in.