Smith helping power Panthers' run game

CEDAR FALLS — When Tyvis Smith runs the football, he reminds a few people of someone.

His toughness, straight-up style and stiff-arm are reminiscent of some dude who's scoring touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals these days.

That's no coincidence.

David Johnson, the former UNI running back, was and is a mentor and friend to Smith, the current UNI running back. The benefits of that relationship have resulted in No. 32 going from a few carries every once in a while to shouldering the load and helping carry the Panthers deep into the playoffs.

It's not gone unnoticed by UNI fans, nor by Johnson.

'We talk a good amount. Before games he'll text me, 'Good luck, little bro. Show out, do your best.' After games he'll text or call just to talk to me about the game — what I did good, what I did bad; basically letting me know what I can fix. Basically, he helps me in every way he can from afar,' Smith said. 'It feels really good he's still watching and supporting me — even with his own success, that he cares about my well-being and to try to motivate me and keep me going. He helps me out whenever he can. It means a lot to me, actually.'

When Smith came on campus from Davenport Central, there weren't a ton of expectations on him to be a featured back.

In fact, said head coach Mark Farley, there weren't any expectations on him. He was first team all-state as a senior, but with Johnson and others around, he wasn't expected to make a huge contribution. But that changed pretty quickly. Smith had a red-shirt year in 2012 to basically shadow Johnson and learn what it took to be successful at the FCS level.

On the field, in the weight room and off the field, the now NFL running back was the example Smith needed.

'We took a gamble on (Smith), to a point, but he did everything. The guy he replaced is, to me, the guy who made him,' Farley said. 'David took Tyvis under his wing the first year here, and Tyvis started learning from David. When you're around David — David was working all the time in the weight room, the classroom. He wasn't a social butterfly. He was here for a purpose. Tyvis saw that.

'When he followed that, it became customary to him and now that's what you see from Tyvis. Thus, three years later, you see this. This didn't just show up. It's been being developed for the last three years.'

Johnson had a hand in nearly every part of Smith's routine at UNI.

You can hear it in Smith's voice when he talks about their friendship, that when he says the help meant and means a lot to him, it's had a powerful impact.

'David, after the first week or two, was helping me with plays, with the fight song that I needed to learn. He just helped me with everything,' Smith said. 'He directed me down the right path. If I do something wrong and he hears about it, he'll get after me and tell me I need to do it right. David's a big part of my success so far. Hopefully he keeps being a part of it.'

Johnson didn't do everything, of course.

Smith said he shared with him the now-patented David Johnson stiff-arm, which has proved very useful for both this season. But apart from that at some agility, Smith has taken the second half of this year to show how tough and relentless he is with the football.

He's run for 1,021 yards in 166 carries and for seven touchdowns, but most came only recently. Smith was the featured back in a road win against Cal Poly with 13 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown, but didn't see the end zone again for six games — and didn't get a single carry last time out against North Dakota State. It wasn't until the Indiana State game (12 carries for 60 yards) that signs pointed to bigger things. Then, starting with the Missouri State game, he's ripped off four straight 100-plus yard games and has five touchdowns in that span — capped off by last week's 207 yards and two scores.

That improvement has not gone unnoticed by his coaches.

'You see the hard work. When you've got sweat equity in something, it takes a lot to fail,' Farley said. 'He's got a lot into himself, and that's why I think you see him play the way he does and with the passion he plays with. He's got a lot of sweat equity in himself and this team.'

The rise from being part of a trio to the counterpunch of the duo that is Smith and quarterback Aaron Bailey has proved what he felt about himself all along.

And make no mistake, he's eager to play against the Bison in the FargoDome at 11 a.m. on Saturday. He didn't get to last time, and wants to help further the Panthers' push to a potential championship in Frisco, Texas. His mentor had a game Thursday night, so he should be able to tune in and watch his protege.

'I'm just trying to show everybody I can play this game. I'm trying to show everybody this team can compete with anybody. I'm not trying to overshadow anybody, or anything like that, just play my game and help my team the best way I can so we can get to Jan. 9,' Smith said. 'It proves to me that if I do my part, and other people do their part, we'll click as a team and keep moving forward. That's the biggest key for me. Do my part, don't do anyone else's, and I feel like I've been doing my part.

'It's very rewarding. It's giving me confidence and other people confidence. We feed off each other. That's what good teams do, and that's what we're doing right now. My success is everyone's success.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com