Hunter Smith could play a larger role in Temple’s run game: ‘We have a lot of trust in him’

Temple was on the verge of a breakthrough against UTSA on Saturday. The Owls scored a touchdown to open the second half and had regained possession on an interception.

Temple struggled to run the ball all day, but the perfect lane opened up for running back Hunter Smith on the left side of the offensive line. The redshirt senior hit the hole and accelerated 54 yards untouched into the end zone to give Temple a three-point lead.

The touchdown run helped shift the game’s momentum to Temple’s favor, as it took down UTSA (2-3, 0-1 American), 27-21. Smith’s run was a defining moment, but that type of play felt like a longshot just a month ago.

Smith was buried on the depth chart and was working his way back from a significant knee injury from the year prior. However, after running back Terrez Worthy left the team on Sept. 24, Smith took on a more defined role. Now, he’s starting to make an impact.

“I just take it day by day,” Smith said. “Just how I can get better every day with my craft, with my health. Just making sure I can take care of myself and just get better every day.”

Smith has experience as a featured back at Louisiana-Monroe. As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, he led the Warhawks with 507 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

The following season, Smith was dealt a crushing blow. He suffered a significant PCL injury in the final weeks of fall camp, knocking him out for the entire 2024 season. Smith spent the year watching from the sidelines and decided to enter the transfer portal in the spring.

Smith’s 2023 highlights caught the eyes of Temple’s staff. While running backs coach Andrew Pierce already was enamored with Smith’s football abilities, his character made bringing him to Temple an easy decision.

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“Especially for a guy that played a little bit, it was more so, ‘Hey, Coach, I just want to come play.
I just want to help Temple get back to where it used to be,’” Pierce said. “That was exciting to me because it wasn’t, ‘Hey, Coach, I got to be the starter, I got to be this. I got to be that.’ It was, ‘Heck, I just want to come and work. I want an opportunity to play.’”

When Smith got to Temple, he still was working his way back from his injury, so he attacked his rehab every day.

First-year coach K.C. Keeler and his staff knew Smith’s road to recovery would be a long process. But they were confident once he returned to full health that he could be a difference maker in the backfield.

“We knew when we took him, it was going to be a little bit of buff out some of the dents and kind of put a new paint job on it,” Keeler said. “He’s just so dedicated in rehab … so it’s neat to see a kid like that who saw there was an opportunity and just was like, ‘I’m ready for it.’ And now we have a lot of trust in him. We really do.”

Smith saw his first extended action in Week 2 against Howard, where he recorded a garbage time 65-yard rushing touchdown. While most of his 80 yards came after Temple’s victory was decided, the performance offered a glimpse at what he could bring to the backfield.

He remained in a reserve role against Oklahoma and Georgia Tech, but a wrench was thrown into the running back room during the bye week that followed the 45-25 loss to the Yellow Jackets. Worthy left the team after working as the second back, which pushed Smith into the role.

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Smith’s first game with an increased workload was encouraging for the Owls (3-2, 1-0 American Conference). Despite having to work his way back from injury, Smith is ready to be an important piece down the stretch.

“I try to build a culture in my room that at the end of the day, when you come out here, you got to practice like [you’re] going to play,” Pierce said. “So regardless if you’re taking starting reps, second reps, and third reps — which, [Smith] was taking third-team reps — no matter what, every rep counts; every rep matters. You treat it like a game in practice. And that’s why when he goes out there, it was no surprise because of how he practices.”