Last December, Gophers star defensive end Anthony Smith said his goal was to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

“Being in the green room and my name being called, literally, the first day,” Smith said before the playing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

The conventional wisdom was the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe against Wisconsin on Saturday would be his final regular-season game, but the redshirt junior was not bidding farewell when asked about his future in Wednesday’s news conference. The Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, native has one more year of eligibility remaining for next fall and appears to be contemplating using it.

“I don’t know yet,” Smith said Wednesday. “I got to focus on this week. Like always, my goal has been to go to the NFL, whenever that happens.”

Smith was then aske

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