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After not being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, Smith signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent.

Smith started off his senior campaign in 2018 with a bang, rushing for a (then) career-high 156 yards against New Mexico State in a 48-10 victory. However, in the next game against Fresno State, on just the third play from scrimmage, Smith tore his ACL on his left knee. This injury kept him out for the remainder of the season. Smith was then granted a 6th year of eligibility by the NCAA, having already redshirted once during his first year on campus.

Smith continued to be the lead back for the Gophers during the 2017 season, sharing carries with Shannon Brooks and Kobe McCrary, but saw his production decrease as the production of the offense as a whole decreased. This was due to many factors, mainly a first-year head coach in PJ Fleck, a first-year offensive coordinator in Kirk Ciarrocca, as well as inconsistent QB play after the departure of 3-year starter Mitch Leidner. Still, Smith ran for 977 yards, which was 7th in the Big Ten, as well as 3 touchdowns that earned him an all-Big Ten honorable mention from the coaches and media.

A 2014 graduate of Mundy's Mill High School, Smith played both football and baseball. As a senior, Smith helped lead Mundy's Mill to its best record to date, 8-5, while rushing for 261 times for 2,201 yards and earning first team all-state honors. As a baseball player, Smith finished his career by being named the Region 4-AAAAA Player of the Year in Georgia.

As a recruit, Smith was ranked a three-star prospect and the 71st best running back in the 2014 recruiting class by 247Sports. Smith was also rated as a three-star prospect by ESPN and Scout, while Rivals listed him as a two-star prospect. Smith committed to Minnesota over offers from East Carolina, Southern Miss, and others, citing the prestige of a Big Ten degree and Minnesota's physical rushing-based offense as key reasons for his decision.

After redshirting during the 2014 season, Smith played in 12 of Minnesota's 13 games as a redshirt freshman during the 2015 season, rushing 157 times for 670 yards and 2 touchdowns.

As a 6th year senior, Smith once again emerged as the primary ball carrier, while sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim and fellow senior Shannon Brooks also shared the workload. After a relatively slow start in the Gophers' three non-conference games, Smith ran for over 100 yards and at least 1 touchdown in each of the first five conference games, including a career-high 211 yard performance on just 24 carries against Illinois. Smith finished the season with a career-high 1,163 rushing yards. That number was good for 3rd in the Big Ten, behind only JK Dobbins and Jonathan Taylor. He also ran for 8 touchdowns, and was awarded all-Big Ten 2nd team honors by both the coaches and media. Smith left Minnesota 2nd all-time in rushing, with 4,125 yards, 6th all-time in rushing touchdowns, with 29, 2nd all-time in yards from scrimmage, with 4,646, and 1st all-time in all-purpose yards, with 5,444.

Rodney Smith (born February 28, 1996) is an American football running back for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent.