Torrold DeShaun "Rod" Smart (born January 9, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Western Kentucky. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent after the 2000 NFL draft.
Smart first played a professional football season with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the original XFL, where he was known by the nickname "He Hate Me". He then joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, all within the same year (2001). He then spent four seasons (2002–2005) with the Carolina Panthers, including winning the NFC Championship in 2003. He also spent time with the Oakland Raiders in 2006, as well as Team Tennessee of the never-launched All American Football League.
College career
Smart was born in Lakeland, Florida, one of several children. His parents were known to give Rod and his siblings unusual nicknames, including "Bone Bone" and "Fat Girl." He attended Lakeland High School, where he played both running back and cornerback for the football team, and also ran for the track team.
Smart attended Western Kentucky University, where he played for the Hilltoppers football team. He ended his career at Western Kentucky ranked tenth all-time in school history with 2,305 rushing yards on 356 carries with 21 touchdowns. He also recorded 115 receiving yards, 279 kickoff return yards, and 14 yards on punt returns. He started all 11 games as a senior in 1999 and was a first-team All-Gateway Conference selection. In his senior season, he led the team with 1,249 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on 188 carries, for a 6.4 yard average, while his all purpose yards and rushing yards ranked fifth and sixth respectively in school history for a single season. He graduated with a degree in kinesiology.
Track and field
Smart was also a member of the track team at Western Kentucky, where he specialized in the 60 meters and 100 meters.
Personal bests
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Event
!Time (seconds)
!Venue
!Date
|-
|55 meters
|6.36
|Jonesboro, Arkansas
|February 27, 2000
|-
|60 meters
|6.86
|Indianapolis, Indiana
|February 7, 1999
|-
|100 meters
|10.56
|Knoxville, Tennessee
|May 14, 2000
|}
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
Smart signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2000. He finished training camp with the team, but was released by the Chargers prior to the start of the 2000 NFL season. He finished the season ranked second in the league in rushing with 555 yards. He also finished third in average rushing yards (3.8 yards per carry), and scored three touchdowns over the course of the one and only XFL season.
Of the over 300 players to don an XFL uniform during its lone 2001 season, league executives noted that while most saw the league solely as a way to further their own careers in hopes of returning to the NFL, Smart fully embraced the league's approach to football and sports entertainment. In the documentary This Was the XFL, Smart stated that had the league survived for a second season, he was certain to have returned and had no intention of trying out for an NFL or CFL position before the XFL collapsed.
===="He Hate Me"====<!-- This section is linked from XFL -->
"He Hate Me" is the phrase Smart chose to place on the back of his Las Vegas Outlaws football jersey. Though most sports organizations allow only a surname or first initial and surname to be placed on the back of a jersey, XFL rules permitted players' jerseys to be stitched with whatever words they wanted. The Outlaws happened to be playing in the league's first nationally televised game (the one that would, ultimately, be the most widely watched game, as the league's viewership plummeted after that point), and the league's choice of camera angles more akin to video games meant that Smart's jersey was prominently featured on the telecasts. The jersey was the XFL's best seller.
Smart explained the origin of the grammatically non-standard phrase in a January 30, 2004 article with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as, "Basically, my opponent is going to hate me. After I win, he's gonna hate me. It is what it is. It's a saying I was saying when I'd feel something wasn't going my way. For example, (when) I was on the squad in Vegas and coach was putting other guys in, (if) I felt I'm better than them, you know, hey, 'he hate me.' See what I'm saying? Give me a chance. That's all I ask. It came from the heart. Within. The way I felt. I feel as if everyone hates me, from my mom to my dad and even my brothers and sisters everyone "Hates Me". My buddy Greg Kates always used to use it, so I took it from him."
Smart stated that he originally planned to use a different nickname on the back of his jersey every week of the season but abandoned that plan when "He Hate Me" became a national sensation. He and his agent also credit the nickname with getting NFL scouts to notice him after the XFL collapsed.
When Smart and the Outlaws played divisional rival the Los Angeles Xtreme, two Xtreme players put "I Hate He" and "I Hate He Too" on the back of their jerseys to express their disdain for Smart. In a later game between those two teams, those two players changed their nicknames to "Still Hate He" and "Still Hate He Too". The curious maxim also caught the eye of American audiences (as well as Smart's future Carolina Panthers teammate Jake Delhomme, who named one of his thoroughbreds, "She Hate Me").
Edmonton Eskimos
After the end of the XFL season Smart signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played one regular season game for Edmonton before being released in August 2001.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL signed Smart to their practice roster on October 2, 2001. He was promoted to the active roster on November 19, 2001, appeared in six regular season games, mainly on special teams, and rushed for six yards on two carries. The Eagles waived Smart at the end of their 2002 training camp.
All American Football League
Smart was selected by Team Tennessee during the inaugural draft of the All American Football League on January 26, 2008. However, when the league was postponed for its inaugural season, all players were released from their contracts, leaving him a free agent.
Post-football
After being released by the Oakland Raiders, Smart became a personal trainer, before appearing in Don’t Blame The Lettuce. In 2015, Yahoo Sports reported he was living in Charlotte, North Carolina and that he "purportedly" worked as a high school guidance counselor.
Personal life
Smart is a fan of 1970s funk and soul music bands such as Earth, Wind and Fire, Heatwave, and Parliament. He was reported by the sheriff's office as having been found safe later the same day he was reported missing.