Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith led the Big Ten in sacks at 6-6, 295 — a power rusher built like a defensive end and a tackle at once. He turned down the NFL to come back, sharpen the craft, and chase the first round.
Smith's 2025 was a wrecking-ball season: 12.5 sacks to lead the Big Ten and 17.5 tackles for loss, the kind of production that usually buys a ticket to the draft. Instead he rejected transfer interest and the NFL to return to Minnesota, pairing with Karter Menz to form one of the conference's best edge duos. The forward stakes are a climb up draft boards: he's already an All-America-caliber rusher, and 2026 is about refining the rush plan around a heavy, powerful base into a first-round profile. At his size, with this production, he's a problem for any tackle in the Big Ten.
How he plays
Smith is a power-rush edge — 6-6, 295, a heavy, long defender who wins by walking tackles back into the pocket rather than running the arc around them. The bull rush is the foundation, and the 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss say it works: he collapses the edge and the quarterback's launch point at once. At his weight he's stout against the run too, hard to move off the ball — the kind of edge who sets a firm edge and rushes from a base of strength. The development is the finesse to complement the force: add the counters and the bend, and a dominant power rusher becomes a complete one.
Career Arc
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jimmy Rogers